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Tyler Herro #14 of the Miami Heat shoots the ball against Tari Eason #17, Reed Sheppard #15, and Jabari Smith Jr. #10 of the Houston Rockets during the second quarter of the game between the Miami Heat and the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on March 21, 2026 in Houston.<\/p>\n
Kenneth Richmond<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
Five takeaways from the Heat\u2019s heartbreaking 123-122 loss in Houston on Saturday night:<\/p>\n
\u25aa Bam Adebayo was stupendous, but the Heat blew an 11-point fourth quarter lead and lost on an Amen Thompson tip in as time expired.<\/p>\n
Adebayo produced the first 20 point\/20 rebound game of his career, and he did it in only three quarters.<\/p>\n
He went to the fourth with 23 points and 21 boards and finished with 32 points and 21 rebounds, marking another milestone after his 83-point game against Washington earlier this month.<\/p>\n
This was only the fourth 20-rebound game of his career; the 21 boards tied a career high. But it wasn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n
Trailing 102-91, Houston unleashed a 23-7 stampede, burying the Heat under a barrage of three-pointers.<\/p>\n
But there was plenty more drama.<\/p>\n
After the Heat closed to within 119-118, Reed Sheppard hit a running jumper with 12 seconds left, just before the shot clock expired. Instead of allowing the Heat to launch a potential game-tying three, the Rockets fouled Adebayo, and he hit two free throws with eight seconds to go.<\/p>\n
Tari Eason\u2019s inbounds pass was deflected; Davion Mitchell was credited with the steal. The ball ended up in the hands of Herro, who dished to Simone Fontecchio, who scored on a goaltending call to put Miami ahead 122-121 with 5.4 seconds left.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt like that was the game deciding layup,\u201d Erik Spoelstra said.<\/p>\n
Alas, it was not.<\/p>\n
After a Houston timeout, and after Kevin Durant missed a well-defended 17-foot pull up jumper against Adebayo with 2.5 seconds left, Thompson rose for the rebound over Kel\u2019el Ware – who was busy blocking out Alperin Sengun – and Adebayo (who was guarding Durant) and tipped the ball in the basket to hand the Heat its fourth loss in a row.<\/p>\n
Replays showed the ball left Thompson\u2019s hand with 0.3 seconds left; the NBA said the basket was scored with 0.2 seconds left and the call was upheld on replay.<\/p>\n
Several Heat players shared in culpability on that play. Herro was guarding Thompson before Thompson slipped by him and crashed for a layup; it appeared to be his job to box out. After his excellent defense on the Durant miss, Adebayo couldn\u2019t recover quickly enough to help box out Thompson.<\/p>\n
Larsson also could have done a better job on the game winner.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe missed a block out there at the end and Thompson made a heck of a play,\u201d Spoelstra said.<\/p>\n
This was a game of lopsided runs. The Heat trailed 32-29 after a quarter, a rare example of a team not leading despite going on a 23-3 first quarter run. The reason: Houston began the quarter with an 8-0 run and ended it with a 19-6 run.<\/p>\n
Miami closed the third quarter on a 13-2 spurt to go to the fourth ahead 96-87. The lead grew to 11 before Houston erased all of that by scoring 15 in a row in an 18-3 avalanche that included two threes by Jabari Smith, two by Aaron Holiday and one by Sheppard.<\/p>\n
After the Heat settled itself, Durant nailed two threes, the second of which moved him past Michael Jordan into fifth on the NBA\u2019s all-time scoring list.<\/p>\n
Durant scored 27, Alperin Sengun had 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Amen Thompson had 24 points and 18 rebounds. Sheppard added 23 points and 14 assists.<\/p>\n
Tyler Herro fueled a Heat third quarter rally with 14 points but he went scoreless in the fourth, missing four shots and finishing with 25 points. He shot 10 for 22 from the field and 2 for 9 on threes.<\/p>\n
Miami got 17 points from Pelle Larsson and 21 from Fontecchio, who made five of nine threes. But the Heat\u2019s bench mustered just 10 points — 8 from Myron Gardner and 2 from Du Smith.<\/p>\n
The Heat (38-33) entered the night eighth in the East and ended the game ninth. At one point Saturday evening, the sixth through ninth seeds (Orlando, Atlanta, Miami and Philadelphia) all stood at 38-32.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going through a little bit of pain,\u201d Spoelstra said of a four-game losing streak after a seven-game winning streak. \u201cIt\u2019s going to make us better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa Adebayo was stupendous, but Ware wasn\u2019t, and that led to Nikola Jovic being removed from mothballs.<\/p>\n
Adebayo had a monster first half with 20 points (9 for 14 shooting) and 13 boards against a team that leads the league in rebounding. It marked only the second time this season and ninth time of his career that he produced a first-half double-double.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s what I expect from me,\u201d Adebayo said.<\/p>\n
He closed 12 of 21 from the field, 6 of 8 on free throws and 2 for 4 on threes, while chipping in four assists and two steals. Spoelstra played him 45 minutes, the most he has ever played in a regular season game that didn\u2019t go to overtime.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe brought that competitive will tonight,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s why it was nearly impossible for me to take him out of the game. Competitive drive that screamed \u2018follow me\u2019.. He\u2019s in tremendous shape right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
But there wasn\u2019t much support from the Heat\u2019s young bigs.<\/p>\n
Making his first appearance since Feb. 20, Jovic entered to start the second quarter and was rusty, missing a layup, a three-pointer and another layup. And that was it for the night \u2013 four scoreless minutes after missing 13 games in a row, 11 because of a back injury and two as a healthy scratch.<\/p>\n
Ware had 13 points and 15 boards in 29 minutes of the Heat\u2019s win against Houston on Feb. 28 and played effectively with Adebayo for the final seven minutes of that game at Kaseya Center.<\/p>\n
But the Heat was outscored 9-0 when Ware and Adebayo played alongside each other in the first half on Saturday. Ware played five scoreless first half minutes – with one rebound and two turnovers – and never played again until the final five seconds, when he and Herro and Larrson and Adebayo permitted Thompson to hit the game winning put back. (Fontecchio was on the floor but less involved in that play.)<\/p>\n
Overall, Miami was outscored by 15 in Ware\u2019s five minutes of action.<\/p>\n
\u25aa As usual, the Heat was short-handed.<\/p>\n
Andrew Wiggins missed his eighth game in a row with a left big toe ailment, while Jaime Jaquez Jr. skipped his second straight because of hip tightness. Those absences were expected.<\/p>\n
Not expected was Norman Powell\u2019s calf injury that sidelined him.<\/p>\n
The calf \u201ctightened up on him this morning,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t able to loosen it up.\u201d<\/p>\n
This marked the 19th game that Powell missed this season, three due to the birth of his daughter and 16 due to injury, including seven recent games when he was sidelined with a groin strain.<\/p>\n
The Heat had 11 available Saturday, factoring in the season-long absence of Terry Rozier (who\u2019s facing federal charges) and the absence of the team\u2019s three two-way contract players, who are on G-League assignment.<\/p>\n
Spoelstra used a starting lineup of Adebayo, Larsson, Fontecchio, Herro and Mitchell for the second time; that group also opened Thursday\u2019s loss to the Lakers. The Heat has used 25 different starting quintets in 71 games.<\/p>\n
\u25aa On a night the Heat did a lot well, Miami\u2019s defense was sharp at times but not sharp enough.<\/p>\n
Miami entered having allowed 130 points per game in its three consecutive losses against Orlando, Charlotte and the Lakers.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur defense for the season is top four, top five, but against these playoff teams, it drops out of the top 15,\u201d Spoelstra said Saturday morning. \u201cWe have to bank on our defense. Most importantly, as competitors, we need to do it against the better teams….We have to produce in these kinds of games.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Heat\u2019s zone disrupted Houston at times but Miami couldn\u2019t replicate the success from its Feb. 28 game, when the Rockets missed 17 three-pointers in a row against the Heat zone.<\/p>\n
Houston drained seven threes in that decisive fourth-quarter run; a couple of them were tightly defended but Rockets shooters had too much airspace on others.<\/p>\n
The schedule gets no easier, with a home game Monday against the Spurs and road games Wednesday and Friday in Cleveland.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, this hurts,\u201d Fontecchio said of Saturday\u2019s outcome.<\/p>\n
\u25aa Durant passed Jordan for fifth on the NBA\u2019s all-time scoring list on a night that Miami got little from the two players it declined to trade for Durant last summer.<\/p>\n
Durant, who entered 25 points short of Jordan\u2019s point total, surpassed that with a three-pointer with 3:35 left.<\/p>\n
As we noted in this piece earlier today,<\/a> the Suns wanted Ware in Durant trade talks last summer, but the Heat declined.<\/p>\n Miami also declined to offer Jovic, though there\u2019s no indication that his inclusion would have satisfied Phoenix. Nevertheless, because of Durant\u2019s age (36), that was a decision that Miami will not regret if it can parlay Ware into a younger star.<\/p>\n Spoelstra\u2019s pre-game media session at Toyota Center was dominated by questions about Durant.<\/p>\n \u201cI root for him always, Spoelstra said. \u201cHe\u2019s timeless. Credit to his work and skill level. He\u2019s maybe not as athletic and explosive as he was younger, but he doesn\u2019t need to be. He could be 60 years old and get 25 in an NBA game. He shoots 50 percent on jump shots every year. I don\u2019t know if anyone realizes how difficult that is to do.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s very underrated off the dribble, his handle, his spots. He\u2019s a highly underrated passer. You can\u2019t copy what he does. The skill level he has is insanely unique for somebody his size.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published March 21, 2026 at 10:32 PM.<\/p>\n
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