On January 9, Beijing time, in the NBA regular season, the Rockets challenged the Heat away. Before the start of the game, the Heat team was a losing streak and ranked 8th in the East, on the other hand, the Rockets won a streak and ranked 8th in the West. In the end, the Rockets lost 113-120 to the Heat on the road.
Both starters:
Rockets starters: Smith, VanVleet, Shin Jing, Green, Tate
Heat starters: Adebayo, Harkes, Herro, Jovic, Lowry
Match Highlights:
First Quarter: The game began, starting with a two-point shot from Tate and an assist from Green. After that, Bam Adebayo of the Heat hit a mid-range shot, and he also colored. The opening Heat beat the Rockets 6-2. Finally, VanVleet hit a long-range 3-pointer + 2 points from mid-range + two free throws. The score turned to 11-10.
Green was fouled and scored two more points from the free throw, and in the second half of the first quarter, Shin finally scored two points from the free throw. The score became 13-14. With Richardson's three-point shot, the Heat went 18-13. The Rockets' Green hit a three-pointer to stop the bleeding. The Heat's Herro hit five points in a row, and the Rockets reluctantly called a timeout. In the second half of the first quarter, VanVleet and Green hit long-range three-pointers and two-pointers to help the team go 21-26.
Whitmore, a Rockets bench player, hit a long-range three-pointer to quickly stop the bleeding. In the second half of the first quarter, the Heat felt hot and quickly pulled the score away, and the first quarter ended, and the Heat led by seven points at 34-27 into the second quarter. The Rockets' VanVleet finished with 10 points and two assists on 3-of-3 shooting in the first quarter. The Heat's Herro had seven points and one assist on 3-of-6 shooting.
Second Quarter Game: Coming up in the second quarter, Thomson scored two points on a European step layup. The second quarter played for more than two minutes, and both sides had very low shooting percentages. VanVleet and Green then hit long-range three-pointers to make it 35-38. The score was three points away. In the first half of the second quarter, the score opened again as Adebayo + Dunroe hit a shot. VanVleet hit another three-pointer. So far, he's made 4-of-4 from 3-point range.
Unfortunately, the other players of the Rockets did not give up, and the score was still 39-48 behind by 9 points. In the second half of the second quarter, Shen Jing finally broke out, hitting a mid-range 2-point + ultra-long 3-point in a row and scoring a total of 5 points. Helped the team to 44-48.
Shin Kyung hit another shot to score two more points, and the Heat's Richardson hit a long-range three-pointer to tie the shot. Tate then hit a long-range three-pointer from the bottom corner to put his team at 49-54. At the end of the second quarter, Whitmore + Smith hit two points to help the Rockets chase points. With Holiday setting a three-pointer + Smith's mid-range two-point shot, the Rockets trailed by one point at 58-59. The first half ended with the two teams tied 59-59.
Half-time: VanVleet scored 16+1+4 on 5-of-8 shooting, Green scored 9+3+4 on 2-of-7 shooting, Shin Jing scored 9+3+2 on 3-of-5 shooting, and Whitmore scored 7+3+0 on 3-of-4 shooting. The Heat's Herro scored 12+0+2 on 5-of-10 shooting, and Richardson, who came off the bench, scored 10+2+1 on 3-of-4 shooting. Robinson + Love + Robinson who came off the bench both scored nine points.
Three-quarter game: As soon as the third quarter came up, Heat Herro hit a 3-point + free throw to beat the Rockets 4-0. Then Shin Kyung turned and hit a layup for 2 points to stop the bleeding. Lowry hit a three-pointer and the score became 61-66. The Rockets trailed the Heat by five points. Then Tate scored two points on a layup + Green hit two free throws to help the team play 65-68. Then the Heat's Herro hit another three-pointer. Herro has scored 19 points so far.
The Rockets' VanVleet hit another three-pointer and has hit five three-pointers so far. In the second half of the third quarter, Green hit a board + Smith hit two free throws, and the Rockets scored another 4 points to help the team score 75-79. Immediately after that, the Heat's Jovic + Herro shot ultra-long three-pointers respectively and continued to widen the score. The difference has been stretched to 10 points. Jovic's presence is full during this time!
Then Shin Jing hit a 2-point + Van Vlitra scored a layup to stop the bleeding. The score became 79-86. The Rockets are still seven points behind the Heat. At the end of the third quarter, the Rockets trailed the Heat by nine points at 82-91 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fourth quarter: The Heat started the game 2-0 and stretched the score to double digits. With Harkes' fixed-point three-point hit, the score became 82-96. The Rockets are already trailing by 14 points. Whitmore then scored two points with both hands and quickly stopped the bleeding. The Heat's Robinson hit a long-range three-pointer to continue the score. The score became 88-103. In the first half of the first quarter, VanVleet hit another three-pointer, and he hit six three-pointers.
In the second half of the fourth quarter, Shen Jing scored two more points with a basket. There is still an 11-point gap between the two sides. The Rockets hit consecutive three-pointers in the fourth quarter, and with Shin Jing's toss + Richardson's gliding toss, the score was 101-110. Later in the fourth quarter, Tate scored two more points from the free-throw line. Immediately after that, Shen Jing scored two more points with both hands, and the score became 106-112.
At the end of the fourth quarter, the Rockets were unable to recover and lost to the Heat on the road.