Rockets fight back with late defensive push as Tyler Herro, Heat hold on

Entering Thursday, the young Houston Rockets had somehow won five straight home games at Toyota Center. This week, to kick off a season-long homestand of seven games, they did it largely with defense — holding both Milwaukee and Phoenix under 100 points. That equaled their total from this season’s first 25 games, combined.

That didn’t happen in Thursday’s 111-108 loss (box score) to Miami, which ended the home-court streak. But while inconsistent, the Rockets showed flashes of that elite defensive form, particularly by pitching a literal shutout versus Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and the Heat over the final five minutes and very nearly rallying to a win.

The problems, of course, came in the first 43 minutes — when Herro scored a career-high 41 points on 13-of-20 shooting (65.0%) and an astounding 10-of-15 from 3-point range (66.7%). Jimmy Butler added 20 points (53.8% FG), 10 rebounds, and 7 assists for the Heat (15-15). But with a 9-0 run to finish the game, Houston showed enough to validate some of its recent improvements, especially on defense.

Kevin Porter Jr. had a strong game for the Rockets with 21 points on 10-of-17 shooting (58.8%) to go with 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals, but he missed his last-ditch attempt at a tying 3-pointer.

Backcourt mate Jalen Green scored a team-high 22 points but continued to struggle from 3-point range, making just 1-of-6 (16.7%) from deep. Rookie forward Jabari Smith Jr. had another double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, though he joined Green with 3-point struggles, shooting just 1-of-7 (14.3%) from behind the arc.

Scroll on for highlights, analysis and postgame interview reaction following Thursday’s game. Houston (9-19) plays the fourth game of its longest homestand of the season (seven games in total) on Saturday night versus Portland, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. Central.