Heat Beats Rockets in a Thriller 113-110
Lebron James scored 38 points to lead the defending champion Miami Heat to a hard fought 113-110 win over the pesky Houston Rockets on Monday. Chris Bosh added 24 points and 10 rebounds while Dwayne Wade chipped in 19 points for the Heat as they upped their record to 6-2. The Rockets were led by Chandler Parsons with a career high 25 points and Omer Asik with a career high 19 points. Houston fell to 3-4 on the season.
James was 12 of 20 including 5 of 7 on three-pointers in the second half. But it as a drive to the bucket with 19 seconds left that was his biggest shot of the game as it put Miami ahead for good.
”It’s the zone you hear about,” James said. ”Certain players talk about getting into the zone. I wish I could get into it more. But when you’re in it, you know how it feels, you know everything you put up and how you’re going is pretty good.”
James Harden got off to a slow start for the Rockets, although he ended up with 22 points. Jeremy Lin had a rough night with only nine points. He shot an airball from three point territory with 10 seconds left that was rebounded by Wade, sealing the game for the Heat.
”Obviously, it’s my responsibility to hit that shot,” Lin said. ”It was a good shot for me, a quality shot and it didn’t go in for me, unfortunately, in a crucial play of the game.”
”I expected him to make every single shot he threw up,” Bosh said about James and his hot shooting. ”I guess, after 30 points, you think everything is going in.’
In other NBA action on Monday night, the Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls 101-95. Rajon Rondo nearly had a triple double with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists. Luol Deng had 26 points and 1 rebounds for the Bulls.
The Oklahoma City Thunder won a close 92-90 decision over the Detroit Pistons. The loss sent the Pistons to 0-8, the worst start in their franchise history. The Utah Jazz beat the Toronto Raptors 140-133 in triple overtime. Paul Millsap had 34 points for the Jazz. DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 37 points.
The Minnesota Timberwolves stayed hot with a 90-82 win over the Dallas Mavericks. The Wolves are 5-2 which is very impressive considering they are without their two best players in Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio. Nikola Peckovic led the Wolves with 20 points.
