Post-Game Grades: Houston Rockets Too Much For Miami Heat
By Wes Goldberg
The Houston Rockets are probably the worst matchup for the Miami Heat. With Dwight Howard in the middle and a flurry of 3-pointers, the Heat’s pace-and-space was outdone by Houston’s inside-out game.
91. 110. 108. 169. Final
A-. Bosh, who played only 30 minutes tonight, got into some early foul trouble and Erik Spoelstra may have sat him a little too long. CB still finished as the team’s leading scorer and almost willed the Heat back into it when he rebounded his own missed free throw and laid it in to get the crowd going. He followed that up by hitting a 3-pointer to cut the Rockets’ lead to six. But it wasn’t enough. Still, these fans and this team is rallying around Bosh. This was just a bad matchup. <em>Stats: 8-14 (2-4 3FG) for 21 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 turnovers in 30:01.</em>. C. Miami Heat. CHRIS BOSH
Miami Heat. DWYANE WADE. B. Dwyane Wade was an efficient scorer tonight, but not necessarily aggressive. He only took 11 shots on a team that needed more offensively. He was also shown up on defense, playing way too soft on Trevor Ariza on a key 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter that helped the Rockets extend their lead. <em>Stats: 7-of-11 (0-2 3FG) for 19 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers in 31:08.</em>. SG
B+. Like I said, this is a bad matchup for the Heat. However, Justin Hamilton (playing significant minutes due to Chris Andersen being out with a rib injury) gave it his best effort. He defended Dwight Howard better than anyone else on the roster, even getting a block on him. Hamilton was able to stretch the floor and hit a few key 3-pointers on his highest scoring night of his career. <em>Stats: 3-8 (3-6 3FG) for 9 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 blocks, 0 turnovers in 30:50.</em>. C. Miami Heat. JUSTIN HAMILTON
TREVOR ARIZA. A. The Rockets are built around Dwight Howard and James Harden, just like the Heat have its duo of Bosh and Wade. The difference in games like this can be one “other guy” stepping up. Tonight, Ariza was that guy for the Rockets. Ariza hit five 3-pointers, including back-to-back shots with five minutes left to give the Rockets a 98-86 lead that iced the game. <em>Stats: 5-8 (5-8 3FG) for 19 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 4 turnovers in 40:13.</em>. SF. Houston Rockets