Rockets at Heat
The Miami Heat are suffering through their longest losing streak of the season and things won't get any easier when they host the red-hot Houston Rockets on Wednesday. A 111-109 home loss to lowly Orlando on Monday gave the Heat four straight defeats by an average of 3.5 points and may have pushed the organization a bit closer to a trade deadline shake-up.
"We should have won that game, we should have won the game before that one," center Hassan Whiteside told reporters Monday. "Every game is important. But we didn't, so it's back to solutions and that's what you have a coaching staff for. They figure it out. Players go out there and put the Xs and Os to the court and try to get the win." Whiteside missed the previous game due to an illness but produced 19 points and 14 rebounds in the loss to the Magic. He also had 22 points and 13 boards in a nine-point loss at Houston on Jan. 22, which is part of the Rockets' current 9-1 stretch. James Harden and Chris Paul combined for 61 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in Houston's 123-113 win at Brooklyn on Tuesday as it won its fifth straight overall and improved to 9-3 on the road against the Eastern Conference.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston), FS Sun (Miami)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (39-13): Harden scored 16 points - just over half his NBA-leading average - in Saturday's runaway win at Cleveland but returned to his high-scoring ways with 36 against the Nets while surpassing 15,000 points for his career. Houston saw one 3-point shooter return in the form of Eric Gordon - who had missed two games with a back issue - but saw another go down when Ryan Anderson suffered a sprained ankle after just nine minutes of action in Brooklyn. "He probably could've played," coach Mike D'Antoni told the media after the game. "He's icing, shouldn't be a (problem). Now tomorrow night it might be problem, but it's not long-term at all."
ABOUT THE HEAT (29-25): While Whiteside has endured an up-and-down campaign dotted with physical issues, fellow center Kelly Olynyk has been a steadying force, but the Gonzaga product now has an injury of his own after straining his left shoulder. "They are telling me not to move it too much, to let it calm down first and kind of keep it out of pain," Olynyk said Monday. "It's pretty painful. We'll see what happens. Come in tomorrow and see how it reacts overnight, if anything changes or feels different. Once it settles down, they can really kind of see what happens." Olynyk did not practice Tuesday and is listed as questionable for this contest.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Paul has made 10-of-17 3-pointers over the last two games.
2. Rockets F Trevor Ariza (hamstring) has missed four straight contests and told reporters in Brooklyn that there was no timetable for his return.
3. Heat SF Josh Richardson is averaging 19.5 points over the last two games while shooting 8-for-13 from the field in both contests.