At the midpoint of a three-game Eastern Conference road trip, the Rockets struggled with two Heat big men in Saturday’s 115-105 loss (box score) at Miami.
Houston (37-22) remains at No. 3 in the West standings, while Miami (32-29) is at No. 8 in the East.
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Heat center Bam Adebayo finished with a team-high 24 points (52.9%) and 11 rebounds, while Kel’el Ware added 13 points (60.0% FG) and 15 rebounds off the bench. Houston countered with Alperen Sengun, but the All-Star was nowhere near as efficient or physical with 13 points (42.9% FG), 6 rebounds, and 4 turnovers.
Jabari Smith Jr. sat out after spraining his right ankle late in Thursday’s win at Orlando, which left Houston even more vulnerable in its frontcourt. The Rockets are hopeful that Smith will only miss one more game.
Kevin Durant led the Rockets with 32 points (60.0% FG) and 8 assists, though he made just 2-of-8 from 3-point range (25.0%). As a team, Houston shot just 9-of-36 from distance (25.0%), and that wasn’t enough to win versus a Miami squad with a top-five-rated defense and a physical advantage in the frontcourt.
The Rockets will conclude their road trip with Monday’s game at Washington. Tipoff versus the Wizards (16-42) is at 6:00 p.m. Central, and the game will be televised regionally on Space City Home Network and nationally via NBA League Pass.
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This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Heat 115, Rockets 105: Alperen Sengun outplayed inside by Miami bigs