The Miami Heat (30-25, 18-9 Home), one of the league’s top scoring defenses, welcome the Houston Rockets (13-42, 5-22 Away) on Friday. Houston was edged out by the Sacramento Kings 130-128 at Toyota Center on Wednesday, their fourth loss in a row. Jalen Green was a top performer in defeat with 41 points.
The Rockets are 15th in the Western Conference. Miami won their seventh home game in a row on Wednesday at FTX Arena, beating the Indiana Pacers 116-111. Bam Adebayo had 38 points, nine rebounds, and three assists, carrying the team. The Heat are the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.
This is the final meeting of the season between the teams. Miami will be pursuing a season sweep against Houston after triumphing in the only previous meeting 111-108 at Toyota Center in December 2022, their fifth straight head-to-head victory.
Tyler Herro led the Heat with 41 points and six rebounds. Green had 22 points in defeat. Green and Kevin Porter Jr., averaging 22.0 and 19.2 points per game, respectively, are leading the Rockets in scoring this season. Porter Jr. also has dished 5.6 assists per game. Meanwhile, Alperen Sengun is grabbing 8.8 rebounds per game.
Jimmy Butler (22.0 ppg), Adebayo (21.8), and Herro (20.3) have been the primary providers of the Heat’s offense. Adebayo also has posted 10.0 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Kyle Lowry has tallied 5.3 assists per game.
The Heat rank as one of the top scoring defenses in the league, second-best with 108.4 points per game allowed. The Rockets have struggled in recent games at FTX Arena, losing eight of the last 10.
Houston is 3-7 in the last 10 games with an average margin of -7.8 (113.0-120.8). Miami has a 6-4 record over the last 10, scoring 107.4 points per game on average while holding opponents to 106.8 (+0.6 margin).
ROCKETS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Eric Gordon: 26.3 | 18.0 | +8.2
Points per game:
Eric Gordon: 19.5 | 13.1 | +6.4
Assists per game:
Alperen Sengun: 5.4 | 3.8 | +1.6
HEAT HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Kyle Lowry: 12.3 | 21.6 | -9.3
Points per game:
Kyle Lowry: 6.7 | 12.0 | -5.3
Assists per game:
Kyle Lowry: 3.0 | 5.3 | -2.3
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Miami Heat -12.5 (-105)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
