On January 9, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Heat hosted the Rockets.
The first quarter of the game started with the two teams playing back and forth, the Heat led 10-9 in the first half of the quarter, the Hots started five Tigers scored 2 points each, and the Rockets mainly relied on VanVleet to score. After the timeout, the Heat's offense scored 7 points in the first quarter, Herro played a high level driven by continuous mid-range shots, Harkes had a wonderful cut-and-run score, the veteran Love also scored 7 points in a single quarter, Dunroe came off the bench and hit two three-pointers in a row, and the Rockets led the team alone, scoring 10 points on all 3 shots in the first quarter, and the Heat led 34-27 at the end of the first quarter.
At the beginning of the second quarter, both teams did not score high, VanVleet came back from the break, VanVleet and Green hit three points in a row, the difference of 35-38 came to 3 points, the Heat felt the pressure and began to score, Hakes, Highsmith and VanVleet had a matchup, Adebayo ate a third foul timeout, and the Heat led 48-39.
After Adebayo's break, Shen Jing's inside advantage was highlighted, and the difference was once narrowed to 4 points, and the Heat's Herro and Richardson scored in a row, but the Rockets were never able to turn it over, and Love then made Shen Jing's third foul, and Shen Jing went off the court. The Heat had a scoring halt at the end of the quarter, and Jabari Smith Jr. went into the second half 59-59 after a 2+1 tie.
Halftime stats, VanVleet 16 points, Herro 12 points, Richardson 10 points.
At the beginning of the third quarter, the Heat once again used excellent mid-range shooting to take the lead, Herro and Adebayo scored in a row, and the Heat led by 10 points 85-75 after Herro hit a three-point shot at the top of the arc again, and the Rockets were the only player who could score consecutive points, and the two teams played a little stalemate in the second half, and at the end of the third quarter, the Heat led 91-82, and the Rockets only scored 23 points in a single quarter.
In the fourth quarter of the game, the Heat led 96-82 after Harkes made a three-point shot, and the Rockets responded with a three-pointer after Whitmore scored, and the point difference was always above 10, and Adebayo finally responded 2+1 after consecutive errors. In the middle of the fourth quarter, both teams were extremely defensive and could not score quickly, and in the final four minutes, the Rockets chased 101-110 after VanVleet scored on a throw, and the Heat called a timeout. After Shen Jing chased 106-112, Herro scored 2+1, and then Deng Luo left the court with 6 fouls, and the Heat continued to score with Herro leading the team, and finally the Heat defeated the Rockets 120-113. The Rockets Devils 6 in a row started with a loss.
Player data
Rockets: VanVleet 32 points, Jalen Green 5 points, Tate 9 points, Smith 10 points, Shin Jing 22 points, Whitmore 11 points.
Heat: Lowry 6 points, Herro 28 points, Harkes 14 points, Jovic 6 points, Bam Adebayo 22 points and 12 rebounds, Richardson 12 points, Love 15 points, Dunroe 14 points.