Preparing to see Rockets fire in upcoming rematch
MIAMI — The Miami Heat haven’t forgotten what happened the last time they matched up against the Houston Rockets. And they don’t expect the Rockets to have forgotten either.
The last time these two teams faced off, the Heat blew Houston out in a 129-100 victory at AmericanAirlines Arena on Nov. 3. So the Heat are aware the Rockets will be looking for retaliation when the two teams meet again Wednesday at the Toyota Center.
“Of course, I would hope,” Meyers Leonard said Tuesday about the Rockets’ possibly playing with extra motivation. “That’s a competitor’s spirit. They’re starting to get into a bit of a rhythm. Obviously [James] Harden is playing at an MVP level once again and is very good at not only creating shots for himself, but for others.
“We have to be locked in, really understand the scouting report, come out ready for them to attack us early, withstand that and grind the game out.”
The Heat were the aggressors from the outset in their thrashing of Houston. They dominated the Rockets 46-14 in the first quarter, setting the record for most first-quarter points in the franchise’s 32 seasons.
For the Heat, the game was a statement against one of the best teams in the league, a statement they don’t expect the Rockets to take lightly.
“They’re a great basketball team that wants to win games, have homecourt advantage and do something in the playoffs,” Kelly Olynyk said. “They’re playing for a lot more than just to get revenge on us, but they’re not going to take anyone lightly, especially after we beat them. They’re going to be ready to rock and we have to be able to match that.”
Maybe the Rockets’ loss against the Heat served as a wake-up call for a team that was 3-3 at the time. Houston won its next eight games, a stretch in which Harden averaged 42.1 points and 7.5 assists, before dropping its following three to three of the Western Conference’s top teams.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said there wasn’t a lot of takeaways the team had from film of that earlier game because of how uncharacteristic it was.
“Our energy was terrific here at home,” Spoelstra said. “They’ve dropped three in a row, but after we played them here, they went on a run and they were playing great basketball. Harden is continuing to take his game to a totally different level. It’s really remarkable.”
Patience for Silva’s fouls
Leonard jokingly referred to Chris Silva and Duncan Robinson as “Hack one” and “Hack two” after Monday’s game. Robinson fouled out while Silva recorded five fouls, his third game of the season with at least five.
“They’re working on it,” Leonard said. “They get targeted a little bit, so I think it’s a challenge for them to be physical and playing the right way.
“Really, I’m just messing with them. Silva’s probably got to be ‘one.’ ”
Silva’s 9.8 fouls per 36 minutes leads all players in the NBA who have played at least 150 minutes. Leonard said the playing time Silva, who’s on a two-way deal with the Heat, receives will make the game easier to understand.
“I told him, ‘Look, we all love you around here. You’re working your tail off and you’ve done a good job,’ ” Leonard said. “Obviously the fouls, we have to decrease them. But he’s playing aggressive and learning on the fly.
“It’s going to take time, literal experience on the floor to get timing, rhythm and just an overall understanding of the NBA game.”