Heat destined for Play-In after blowing huge opportunity to snap losing streak

It was a game the Miami Heat had every chance of winning, then the fourth quarter started, and every chance they had up until that point almost vanished until the last few minutes, as the Houston Rockets eventually shut the Heat down to take the 123-122 win. 

Miami entered Saturday night's matchup trying to course correct a three-game losing streak, on the road against a Houston squad that needed to build on a win over the Atlanta Hawks the night before. The Heat failed in their goal; the Rockets succeeded. 

The loss dropped the Heat to 38-33, keeping them in play-in hell, and, worse yet, marked a fourth straight loss following a seven-game win streak. After what looked like a turn of events for the Heat, it has now regressed significantly, and it could cost them later on. 

Heat blew the fourth quarter, and that's the story of the game

It's not the first time this season Miami has gone into the final frame on equal footing with the opposing team and a fair chance to steal a win, only to come up short in a fourth-quarter blowout, despite a late surge in the final few minutes — the Rockets were up 22-9 in the fourth early on.

So it was against the Rockets, who outscored the Heat 36-26 in the final 12 minutes after being outscored themselves by Miami 96-87 through the first three quarters. Despite solid offensive performances from Bam Adebayo (32 points), Tyler Herro (25 points), and double digits for Miami's other three starters, Kevin Durant and company were simply too much in the end. 

The Heat had the Rockets, too, as Houston's defense virtually vanished midway through the game. Still, Miami couldn't close it out despite making it a one-point game at the end. The continued absences of Andrew Wiggins and Jaime Jaquez Jr. certainly were missed, but it was the late news that Norman Powell would also miss the game with a calf injury that came as a surprise.

A one-point loss means it could have gone either way, but Erik Spoelstra will almost certainly lament his team's poor start to the fourth quarter. What also doesn't help Miami is that the Hawks beat up on the Golden State Warriors, allowing Atlanta to move up and out of the play-in, while the Orlando Magic dropped into the play-in after a one-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. 

The seven-game win streak was supposed to give the Heat some room to breathe once they left the play-in. Now, the tables have turned, and it's looking really tight for them once again. The Heat next face one of the league's best in the San Antonio Spurs on Monday before facing an Eastern Conference rival back-to-back, the Cleveland Cavaliers.