Houston’s starting backcourt of Kevin Porter Jr. (21 points, 6 assists) and Jalen Green (25 points, 5 assists) played well Monday, but starting center Alperen Sengun struggled in his preseason return as the Miami Heat defeated the visiting Rockets, 118-110 (box score).
Sengun, who missed Friday’s win due to a dental procedure, had just 2 points and 4 rebounds on 1-of-5 shooting (20.0%) while fouling five times in only 17 minutes. His struggles helped Miami erase an early 16-point lead by the Rockets, who came out firing behind Porter and Green. The backcourt mates combined to hit 14-of-31 shots (45.2%) in 28 minutes apiece, including 8-of-17 on 3-pointers (47.1%).
Rookie forward Tari Eason continued to play well off Houston’s bench, registering 17 points and 12 rebounds in 28 minutes while making 8-of-11 shots (72.7%) from the field. Third-year forward KJ Martin continued to shine in the absence of several rotation regulars with 13 points and 4 assists in 28 minutes, all while shooting 5-of-9 overall (55.6%) and 3-of-6 on 3-pointers (50.0%).
Jabari Smith Jr. (left ankle sprain), Eric Gordon (rest), Daishen Nix (lower back soreness) and head coach Stephen Silas (health and safety protocols) were not part of Monday’s action for the Rockets, while Jae’Sean Tate left early with right ankle soreness.
With Silas missing a second straight exhibition, lead assistant John Lucas again filled in as Houston’s acting head coach.
On the other side, Caleb Martin (right knee tendinitis), Tyler Herro (right knee contusion), and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle soreness) were out injured for the Heat. Miami also chose to hold out veterans Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Kyle Lowry for rest purposes.
Among those playing, veteran wing Max Strus led Miami with 24 points in 24 minutes, including 5-of-10 on 3-pointers (50.0%). Rookie Nikola Jovic was impressive off the bench with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists, including several minutes in a direct matchup with Sengun. Miami was +24 in Jovic’s 23 minutes, best of any player.
Scroll on for postgame interviews, clips, and analysis. The Rockets (2-1) will conclude their preseason schedule on Friday at Indiana, while Miami (3-1) wraps up by hosting New Orleans on Wednesday.
Stagger for Jalen Green and
1) love how tight he comes off the second screen
2) love the patience as he receives the ball, waits out the help and retreats
3) oh no, Victor Oladipo pic.twitter.com/c8vSGkCUkr
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) October 10, 2022
#Rockets backcourt tonight:
Jalen Green:
25 PTS | 4 REB | 5 AST | 5/10 3FG
Kevin Porter Jr:
21 PTS | 7 REB | 6 AST | 3 STL | 7/13 FG
Great night for Houston’s guards, picking up where they left off to close last season.
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) October 11, 2022
… and he just picked up an offensive foul, his fifth of the evening, followed by getting blocked at the rim on the next possession. https://t.co/18NzmVhjdM
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) October 11, 2022
Tari Eason has 17 points & 10 rebounds in 23 minutes. He’s about to hit 20 & 10 again. Like clockwork. He’s a machine.
— Roosh (@RooshWilliams) October 11, 2022
Pretty clear that Jalen Green put an emphasis put a special emphasis on strength training this summer.
Example:
Green finishes strong at the basket into the body of Max Strus. pic.twitter.com/446tSKZyKQ
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) October 11, 2022
Speaking of two plays, here is Tari Eason summed up in two plays. Sprint to the offensive rebound and just knowing how to score in the paint against any defense pic.twitter.com/D4Fl8pzXU2
— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) October 11, 2022
Jae’Sean Tate was ruled out of tonight’s game with right ankle soreness.
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) October 11, 2022
K.J. Martin is a revelation.
— RedNinetyFour (@RedNinetyFour) October 11, 2022
I do think this half showed the value of Tate, EG, and Jabari as connectors. Life is a lot harder when you don’t have at least one or two of them.
They’re still talented individually without those guys, but the sum of the parts had something lacking
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) October 11, 2022
Dont think this can be said enough. Last year Green was off ball most of the year. Coach Silas said Green will be on ball more, and KPJ will be the catch-and-shoot guard and we are seeing this play out the past 3 games pic.twitter.com/nOsEV6y7sP
— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) October 11, 2022
Great block by K.J. Martin. #Rockets turning defense into offense with a dunk attempt made by Tari Eason.
— Coty M. Davis (@CotyDavis_24) October 11, 2022
These first half Boban minutes were fun for about 30 seconds.
The deep drop coverage is getting COOKED by Miami.
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) October 11, 2022
Rockets up to 12 turnovers in 15 minutes. Preseason hoops, yes, but that was their biggest shortcoming last season.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) October 11, 2022
Rockets going with no point guard on the court and what has become more common place Green is running the offense
— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) October 11, 2022
Tari Eason crashes boards like his entire life depends on it.
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) October 11, 2022
Daishen Nix out with a lower back issue. We mentioned this on today’s show based on what we saw in the locker room Friday, and that turns out to be the case. Important context to his performance https://t.co/5qypkSYiHY
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) October 11, 2022
Jalen Green is showcasing right now why he’s becoming a star.
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) October 10, 2022
That was dirty, what Jalen Green just did to #Rockets legend Victor Oladipo
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) October 10, 2022
Great observation by @TheRyanHollins, the added strength by Jalen Green this offseason is what allowed him to go into Dedmon and draw the foul
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) October 10, 2022
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