Today, the Rockets hosted the Heat at home, with Ethan, Tate, Butler, and Deng Luo all sitting out. The Rockets' starting lineup was VanVleet, Green, Shen Jing, Smith, and Dillon; while the Heat's starting lineup was Rozier, Love, Herro, Adebayo, and Hayes.
In the first quarter, Smith hit a 3+1, Jalen Green assisted VanVleet with a three-pointer, and he also drew a three-point foul, giving the Rockets a 12-4 lead. However, Adebayo scored consecutively, and Herro hit a three-pointer from outside, as the Heat responded with a 9-0 run to take the lead. After that, both sides exchanged scores, and after a tie at 18, they entered a timeout. Returning to the game, the Heat double-teamed the ball-handler, putting great pressure on the Rockets. Fortunately, Adams grabbed consecutive offensive rebounds, allowing Dillon to score 5 points in a row, helping the Rockets regain the lead and force a timeout from the Heat. After the timeout, the Rockets' offense stalled, and Rozier hit a buzzer-beating jumper, ending the first quarter with the Heat leading 31-27 by 4 points.
In the second quarter, during the rotation phase, Shen Jing scored consecutively in the paint, and Armoni Brooks dunked and assisted White Mage to level the score. However, the Heat also made a 3+1, and Herro quickly stabilized the situation. The two teams were evenly matched, and after Adebayo returned, he helped the Heat slightly extend their lead to 6 points. Dillon hit a three-pointer to stop the bleeding, and Shen Jing scored in the paint, but Jalen Green missed several shots after coming back, and the Rockets trailed by only 2 points. Adebayo continued to draw fouls and make free throws under the basket, and the Heat hit a corner three-pointer to lead by 6 points again. VanVleet hit a corner three-pointer to stop the bleeding, and the half ended with the Rockets trailing 50-53 by 3 points.
After halftime, in the third quarter, Jalen Green made a fast-break layup, and Dillon followed with a three-pointer and a 2+1, scoring 6 points in a row to take the lead. The Heat made a ridiculous mistake and gave up possession, and Smith hit another three-pointer! Herro made a floater to stop the bleeding, Green drove past Adebayo for a layup, and Dillon hit another three-pointer! The Rockets went on a 16-4 run to force a timeout from the Heat. Returning to the game, Jalen Green scored 5 points in a row to force another timeout from the Heat. Returning to the game, the Heat responded with a 5-0 run, but Green made a mid-range shot, and the Rockets maintained a 10-point lead. Both sides exchanged scores, and when the Heat closed the gap to 5 points, Udoka called a timeout. Returning to the game, it was still Green who made a tough breakthrough, drawing a foul and making free throws to stop the bleeding, and Shen Jing made a putback, as the Heat fought hard to catch up. The third quarter ended with the Heat trailing 81-82 by 1 point.
In the early stages of the fourth quarter, the Heat made a 2+0 to take the lead, Shen Jing drew a foul and made two free throws, and VanVleet hit two three-pointers to force a timeout from the Heat. Returning to the game, VanVleet broke through and scored again, Herro came back and made a mid-range shot to stop the bleeding, but Rozier made another traveling violation and entered a timeout. After the timeout, the Heat caught up. The Rockets missed several shots, and Herro made free throws to take the lead, with Dillon finally stopping the bleeding with a layup. However, Herro made another mid-range shot to retake the lead, and the Rockets' offense completely stalled with no one scoring, as Jovic hit a three-pointer to seal the game. After the timeout, the Rockets committed a 5-second violation, and VanVleet received two technical fouls and was ejected, followed by a fight between Armoni Brooks and Herro that triggered a brawl, with the referees reviewing and ejecting six players, and the Heat made consecutive free throws.
Ultimately, the Rockets lost 100-104 at home to the Heat, suffering their second consecutive defeat. Let's take a look at the specific performances of the players!
Wild Brawl! Armoni Brooks Slams Herro
The Rockets' final offensive drought was reversed by the Heat, and Armoni Brooks, whose mentality collapsed after being trash-talked by Herro, directly tackled Herro, leading to a conflict involving multiple players from both the Heat and the Rockets, resulting in a brawl that halted the game.
After the referees reviewed the incident, six players were ejected: two from the Heat (Herro and Rozier) and four from the Rockets (Udoka, assistant coach Ben, Jalen Green, and Armoni Brooks).
Outperforming Adebayo, Shen Jing with 18+18+6
Shen Jing continued his fiery form from the previous game, dominating Adebayo in the paint today and exploding against the Heat.
In the first quarter, he started off by going 4-for-4 and scoring 8 points. In the first half, he went 7-for-7, scoring 14 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, dishing out 1 assist, and making 1 steal.
In the third quarter, Green exploded, and Shen Jing scored only 2 points, but in the fourth quarter, he returned and teamed up with VanVleet to help the Rockets pull away. However, they were ultimately reversed by the Heat. In this game, he went 8-for-14, scoring 18 points, grabbing 18 rebounds, and dishing out 6 assists.
Going Toe-to-Toe with Herro, Jalen Green Goes Cold in the Fourth Quarter
It is said that Jalen Green cannot perform in high-level games, as he went 1-for-8 in the first half, missing both three-point attempts and making all three free throws, scoring 5 points, grabbing 1 rebound, and dishing out 2 assists.
Coach Udoka likely scolded him during halftime, and in the third quarter, Green finally woke up, scoring 11 points in the first half of the quarter and once forcing a timeout from the Heat. In that quarter, Green went 5-for-9, hitting 1-of-3 three-pointers and making 3-of-4 free throws, scoring 14 points.
However, his shooting cooled down in the fourth quarter without any points, and he was also involved in the brawl and subsequently ejected. In the entire game, Green went 6-for-20, hitting 1-of-8 three-pointers and making 6-of-7 free throws, scoring 19 points, grabbing 3 rebounds, and dishing out 2 assists.
VanVleet Buried the Rockets
In the first half, VanVleet went 3-for-10, hitting 2-of-5 three-pointers, scoring 8 points, grabbing 3 rebounds, dishing out 3 assists, making 1 steal, and blocking 1 shot. He did not score in the third quarter, but at the beginning of the fourth quarter, VanVleet took over the offense, scoring 8 points in a row and hitting two three-pointers to force a timeout from the opponent.
However, in the final moments, he began to commit errors, committing a 5-second violation on an inbound pass and colliding with the referee, resulting in a technical foul and ejection, personally burying the Rockets.