LeBron James leads Miami Heat past Houston Rockets for a 113-110 victory – NBA Recap
Coming off a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the defending champions Miami Heat were looking to avoid two losses in a row when they took on the Houston Rockets on Monday night at the Toyota Center. And it took a memorable performance by LeBron James to secure a victory for the Heat against a charging Rockets team that has been strengthened by the addition of James Harden.
LeBron James finished with 38 points and 10 rebounds, including a 5 of 8 performance from three point range as he helped Miami escape with a 113-110 victory. Chandler Parsons led the Rockets with a career high 25 points and 4 rebounds, going 5 of 10 from the distance.
As usual, Miami got off to a flying start as they outran the Rockets and fled to an early 9-0 lead. A three pointer by Shane Battier followed by a jumper by Chris Bosh had them leading 16-2, and a turnaround jump shot by Wade gave Miami complete control of the game with a 22-5 lead. The Rockets only managed 5 points in the first half of the period, but picked up the scoring in the later part by going on an 11-0 to cut the Heat lead down to 22-16. James Harden then nailed a three pointer near the end of the period as Miami finished the period leading 25-19.
The Heat extended their lead early on in the second period, and a dunk by Wade put them ahead 35-25. Houston replied with a three pointer by Parsons, which started a 9-0 run to cut the lead down to 37-39. The Rockets remained close throughout the rest of the period and Miami went into the halftime break with a 56-52 advantage, owing to a buzzer beating tip in by Udonis Haslem.
James scored back to back three pointers in the early going of the third period to put the Heat up 66-59, but Jeremy Lin replied with a three pointer of his own and the Rockets were once again within 4. Back to back three pointers by Carlos Delfino finally gave the Rockets a 73-71 lead, and a layup by Patrick Patterson in the final seconds of the period ensured that the Rockets took an 85-82 lead into the final period.
Houston were on a roll to start the final period, going on a 9-4 run to lead 94-86. However, James then stepped up for the Heat and controlled the final 10 minutes of the game. He scored 8 of the Heat’s next 10 points, including two three pointers, and had the Rockets lead down to 101-96. James then nailed another three to put the Heat down by 1, but Parsons replied with a clutch three pointer to put the Rockets back up 110-106, with 1:29 left in regulation. James then went on a personal 5-0 run to give the Heat a 111-110 lead, and both Lin and Harden missed game winning three pointers in the final 10 seconds as Miami won 113-110.
Harden finished with 22 points and 5 assists, while Omer Asik had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the night. Bosh added 24 points and 10 rebounds and Wade finished with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists.
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