Rockets at Heat
The Houston Rockets just got done picking on one struggling Eastern Conference team and will take aim at another when they visit the Miami Heat on Tuesday. The Rockets made up for two straight sluggish performances offensively by blasting the Brooklyn Nets 137-112 on Sunday in the opener of a two-game trip.
Houston star James Harden posted his 12th triple-double with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists on Sunday and knocked down four of the team's 21 3-pointers. The Rockets, who scored 105 points in each of their back-to-back losses prior to Sunday, put up 104 points through three quarters against Brooklyn and bumped their season scoring average back to 114.9 points - second only to the Golden State Warriors. The Heat are not at that level offensively and sit 29th in scoring average (98.3 points) after dropping four straight and 13 of their last 15 games. Only the Nets are keeping Miami out of the basement in the East, though the Heat are staring at a more favorable schedule with Tuesday's contest marking the start of a stretch with eight of 10 at home.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, ROOT (Houston), FSN Sun (Miami)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (32-11): Houston was playing the second night of a back-to-back when it fell at Minnesota on Wednesday and the third game in four nights in a home loss to Memphis on Friday, and coach Mike D'Antono could see the change after a day of rest. "To me, it's an energy thing," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters after Sunday's triumph. "The shooting's energy, playing good offense is energy and defense is energy. When we do that - it gets started on either end, but it usually starts on the defensive end - we get some stops, make some baskets. But if you're engaged defensively, you're going to be engaged offensively." Harden did not record a triple-double in either of the two losses last week but did so in each of the last three wins.
ABOUT THE HEAT (11-30): Miami went 1-5 on its just-completed road trip but got three days to rest and practice after finishing off the trip with a 116-108 loss at Milwaukee on Friday. The Heat have been plagued by injuries all season and are starting to draw interest among contending teams as a trade partner with some of their healthy veterans. The biggest pieces Miami has to offer are center Hassan Whiteside, who is reportedly not being shopped, and point guard Goran Dragic, who is averaging team highs of 19 points and 6.4 assists.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Rockets SF Trevor Ariza went 6-of-10 from 3-point range on Sunday after struggling to 4-of-13 in the previous two games.
2. Heat PF James Johnson recorded 12 assists on Friday and a total of 18 in the last two games.
3. The teams split two meetings last season, with Miami earning a 109-89 home win while holding Harden to 2-of-15 from the field on Nov. 1, 2015.