The Miami HEAT defeated the Houston Rockets 90-85 Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 26 points and six assists.
Impact Performance of the Night: Dwyane Wade always plays at a different level against other elite-level shooting guards, and Tuesday night was no different. Wade started the game off red-hot, as he hit his first six shots and was money from the perimeter. In all, Wade shot 11-of-17 for his 26 points and also had six assists, two rebounds and a nice block on Terrence Jones.
The Deciding Run: Chris Bosh led a 10-2 HEAT run with some great perimeter play to start the third quarter and cut the Rockets’ lead to 54-51 with 9:22 left in the second half. After Houston responded, Miami closed the third quarter with a 11-3 run to take a 70-67 lead that it wouldn’t relinquish. Mario Chalmers led the charge on the run and hit some timely shots.
Play of the Game: As time was winding down on the shot clock late in the game, Dwyane Wade made his move from the top of the key and drove to his left. He then hit a tough, contested mid-range jumper from the left elbow over Troy Daniels to seal the deal and put the HEAT up 88-83 with 35.8 seconds left.
Another great play came with 9:43 left in the first quarter. Dwyane Wade drove into the lane off a screen from Chris Bosh and rifled it to him in the post. From there, Bosh gave Terrence Jones a little head-fake to draw the foul. Bosh then flipped the ball up with one hand high off the backboard as he was walking away to complete the circus shot and put Miami up 6-3 early on. Bosh hit the ensuing free throw to add to the HEAT’s lead.
Later in the game, Bosh handed the ball off to Wade on the left wing as he was setting a screen for him. Wade aggressively drove into the lane, absorbed contact from Jason Terry and finished the and-one. Wade hit the free throw to cut the Rockets’ lead to 47-38 with 1:32 left in the first half.
Efficiency Rating: Offensive Efficiency: 98.6; Defensive Efficiency: 92.0
Trend to Watch: Mario Chalmers made some smart decisions with the ball and had an excellent third quarter that got the HEAT back into the game. Chalmers scored nine of his 13 points in the third quarter, including a contested, bank-shot 3-pointer from the corner. He also tallied four steals and three assists on the night. Chalmers has now put together two solid performances in a row and seems to be ready for the regular season.
The Takeaway: As expected, Coach Spoelstra gave HEAT fans a little preview of the rotation and played guys more regular minutes on Tuesday night. In addition, the HEAT’s ball movement and defense got much better in the second half as they were rallying back. It was great to see Dwyane Wade have his best performance of the preseason and hit a clutch jumper as he has so many times in his career.
Bosh was also extremely effective against the Rockets from both inside and outside. In his 34 minutes of play, Bosh hit 7-of-12 shots for 22 points and nabbed six boards. As he has all preseason, he got to the free-throw line plenty and also did his usual damage from the perimeter.
Notes: It won’t show on the box score, but Khem Birch played a solid game and never gave up on a play. He finished with two points, one board, one block and one assist on the night.
Game Highlights: