On January 1, 2022, Beijing time, the Heat, who won four consecutive games, competed with the Rockets, who lost five consecutive games, in the regular season. This game, can be described as a twist and turn, very exciting. Despite the absence of players such as Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson and Theis, the two teams still presented a visual feast for the fans.
Heat vs Rockets
In the first half, Butler was in hot form, scoring 19 points alone to lead the Heat to a 25-point lead in the first half. The Rockets, on the other hand, relied on teams to fight the Heat. The Rockets, who blossomed at multiple points, relied on consecutive scores from Tate, Gordon and Jaylen Green in the second half of the second quarter to confront Butler and try to close the point difference. At halftime, Houston trailed by 14 points.
In the second half, the Rockets continued to try to chase points, but Butler's singles in the low position were unguarded, and the two teams began shooting three-pointers in the middle of the third quarter, but the difference was always above 11 points. Before heading into the fourth quarter, the Rockets trailed by 13 points.
Butler and teammate Pack Wood
In the final quarter, the Rockets exploded under the outbreak of Kenyan Martin Jr. and Tate, and exploded a 15-7 offensive attack, narrowing the point difference to 5 points to see the dawn of a reversal and defeat of the Heat. However, Butler hit consecutive solid free throws, Lowry slammed into the long range, and the Heat regained a double-digit lead. The Rockets, who have since failed to form a continuous scoring offensive, have little time left. The Heat, who eventually beat the Rockets 120-110, turned down a 25-point reversal and also turned down a big upset.
The Rockets, who are no. 1 in the West and aim to rebuild, once had a chance to complete a 25-point reversal and nearly beat the championship-winning hottest Heat. However, Butler's strong run still made the Heat laugh to the end. After this campaign, the Heat won five consecutive games and continued to rank fourth in the East. The Heat are just 1.5 wins behind the Bulls at the top of the Eastern Conference and the Nets in second place.
The Heat slashed the Rockets
Reject 25 points reversal + reject big upset! Thermal Fire Gram Rocket, Butler 37+2! Tate 22+7!
At the start of the first quarter, Yutsevin scored four consecutive empty points, Lowry and Gordon and Wood shot three-pointers, and Porter and Nwaba rushed inside to score. Butler was in good shape, hitting a three-pointer and then dunking. Green scored from a distance, Butler and Juvesett teamed up to attack the inside to score points, and Wood and Butler each scored three points with consecutive free throws.
Lowry defended on the court
Porter and Green combined to score four points, Christopher scored from a distance, Gay responded with three consecutive 3-pointers, Highsmith led the team to score another 5 points in the middle and long range, and the Heat extended the point difference to 8 points. Tate scored a layup to break the scoring drought for the Rockets. Hiro scored 6 points in a row with a free throw, also in color. After the first quarter, the Rockets trailed 30-41.
In the second quarter, Porter and the Heat Martin shot three-pointers, Shinkin scored 5 points with consecutive free throws, Gay continued to score points with free throws, Stauskas and Martin attacked the inside line, and the Heat continued to widen the point difference. The Rockets requested a timeout, lowry led the team to fire inside and outside, blasting a 9-0 offensive, and the Heat extended the point difference to 24 points. Wood scored with a dunk to break the deadlock for the Rockets. Gay scored another three-pointer to give the Heat a lead of 25.
Jimmy Butler singled against Jaylen Green
Tate and Gordon each scored from a distance, Tate could hit a singles, and the Heat were stopped. Butler scored four points on consecutive free throws, and Tate and Gordon combined to score five points in response. Green scored four points on consecutive free throws and Butler scored two free throws. Green scored from a distance and Butler slammed in a whistle-blown three-pointer. After halftime, the Rockets trailed 60-74.
In the second half, Hiro and Jaylen Green each scored on jumpers, wood rushed to the basket, and scored in the penalty area. With a 10-point difference, Butler hit a single shot in the low post to stabilize the situation for the Heat. Hiro threw a score, Butler slammed the dunk, and the Heat responded with a 6-0 offensive touch. Nwaba hit a three-pointer, Butler counter-attacked a jumper to score and Eric Gordon blasted in a long-range three-pointer. Butler singled low and threw a free throw. Hiro scored on a layup, Lowry scored two free throws, and the Heat continued to widen the gap.
Rockets Eric Gordon
Wood scored from the basket, Tate hit a 2+1 shot, Wood took over, the Rockets narrowed the gap to 11 points, and the Heat requested a timeout. Highsmith hit a three-pointer, Hiro hit a single, and the Heat scored five straight points. Brooks hit a long-range shot, and Highsmith's long-range shot felt hot against it. Guy scored on a layup and Brooks also hit a three-pointer. Ken Young Martin Jr. slammed his hands shut, and after the third quarter, the Rockets trailed 87-100.
In the final quarter, Tate scored inside, Stauskas scored a free throw, Kenjan Martin Jr. scored four points in a row, and the Rockets went on a 6-1 offensive run to narrow the gap to eight points. The Heat requested a timeout, ken young Martin hit 2 free throws, and the Rockets trailed their opponents by just 6 points and saw hope of a comeback to beat their opponents. Butler hit a 2+1 hit to withstand the Rockets' counterattack. Christopher scored on the inside, Butler scored 2+1, and the Heat took a 10-point lead. Tate hit the board and hit another three-pointer, and the Rockets blasted a 15-7 offensive, narrowing the point difference to five points and greatly increasing the hope of reversal.
Tate attacked the basket
With just 4 minutes and 41 seconds left in the finale, the Heat requested a timeout. Butler and Hiro each scored two free throws, Lowry scored three-pointers, and the Heat went on a 7-0 offensive run, bringing the gap back to 12 points and Miami sealed the win. Tate dunked, Wood scored on a layup, and the Heat Martin scored on a layup. Jaylen Green scored from the basket and Butler hit all two free throws. Lowry hit all 2 free throws, Christopher hit a layup, and the game time was over. The Heat, 120-110, beat the Rockets to a five-game winning streak.
In this game, the Heat's star Jimmy Butler achieved a big explosion. Butler played 35 minutes, shooting 12-of-21, 2-of-3 from three-point range and 11-of-11 from the free throw line, and had 37 points, 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks. Butler, with a 57 percent shooting percentage, is 67 percent from three-point range. Although the outside feels hot, Butler still insists on attacking the inside. Butler is the player who has walked to the free throw line the most times in the whole game. Butler, the aggressiveness on the offensive end is evident.
Jaylen Green defends Jimmy Butler
Butler, who scored the highest score in the game, is still the king of the block in this battle. Butler, once again, achieved the integration of attack and defense. Jimmy Butler, who scored the highest personal score of the season, scored consecutive points in the decisive moments to help the Heat withstand the opponent's Jedi counterattack. Butler was the number one contributor to the Heat's victory.
In this campaign, rocket rising star Tate ushered in a comeback. Tate, played a strong performance. Tate played 25 minutes, shooting 9-of-15, 2-of-3 from three-point range and 2-of-2 from the free throw line, and got full stats of 22 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. Tate, with a super high shooting percentage of 60%, cut the highest score of the whole team. Tate, who scored consecutive points in the final quarter, once helped the Rockets close the point difference to five points. Tate, who had the opportunity to lead the team to achieve a reversal. However, in the face of Butler's outburst and the Heat's six-man scoring in double figures, Tate still failed to stage a 25-point comeback.
Rockets Tate
Two-team stats
Heat: Butler 37 points, 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, Utesevon 10 points, 13 boards, Hiro 16 points, 6 boards and 9 assists, Correb Martin 11 points and 6 boards, Kyle Lowry 12 points, 3 boards and 3 assists, Gay 17 points, 4 boards and 4 assists, Haysmith 9 points, Silva 2 points and 7 boards, Stauskas 6 points and 2 boards.
Rockets: Tate 22 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, Kristianwood 18 points, 7 boards and 4 assists, Jaylen Green 16 points, 3 boards and 2 assists, Kevin Porter Jr. 7 points, 4 boards and 4 assists, Eric Gordon 15 points and 4 assists, Nwaba 7 points and 10 boards, Christopher 7 points, 5 boards and 3 combinations, Brooks 6 points and 4 boards, Martin Jr. 6 points and 4 boards, Shen Jing 6 points injured.