Miami Heat (32-29) beat Houston Rockets (37-22) 115-105 at home on Saturday, February 28.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Heat struck first, taking the opening quarter 32-28 and a 4-point lead after one. The Rockets moved in front with a 24-19 second quarter, carrying a 1-point lead into halftime.
The Heat won the third 34-31 to turn the game around, taking a 2-point lead into the fourth. The Heat took the fourth 30-22; the Heat finished the job for a 115-105 regulation win.
What decided it
The Heat got more from their shots, finishing at 56.1% effective field-goal shooting compared with 47.9% for the Rockets. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Rockets did win one battle, ball security: TOV% of 10.1 against 13.3. The Heat made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 99 possessions per team, the Heat produced 116.7 points per 100 possessions to 106.6 for the Rockets.
The Heat's reserves also made a difference, outscoring the opposing bench 28-16.
Who made the difference
Kevin Durant was the game's biggest individual force for HOU: 32 pts, 5 reb, 8 ast on 12-20 shooting. His Game Score of 29.9 led everyone. His team was +5 with him on the floor.
Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 24 pts, 11 reb, 1 ast on 9-17 shooting, good for a 18.9 Game Score.
Bam Adebayo (24 pts, 11 reb, 1 ast), Kel'el Ware (13 pts, 15 reb, 1 ast), and Tari Eason (10 pts, 11 reb, 5 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 54% for the Heat.
Across the last 2 meetings in our records, the series is even.
The Heat are now 32-29, and the Rockets are 37-22. The Heat last five before this game: W-W-W-L-L.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.