No Butler, no win

Rockets get revenge while Heat miss star, ‘competitive spirit’

HOUSTON The lessons from the Miami Heat’s 117-108 loss Wednesday night to the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center hardly were subtle.

The Heat are better Jimmy Butler.

And not nearly as good away from AmericanAirlines Arena.

With Butler sidelined by illness, this was nothing like the Heat’s 129-100 blitz of the Rockets on Nov. 3 at AmericanAirlines, when the Heat pushed their lead to 41 and never trailed.

This time there was a 14-point deficit in the opening period and a 24-point deficit at halftime. Last time, the Heat were up 25 at the half in the first of the season’s two meetings.

“We just didn’t bring the right, consistent, competitive spirit,” coach Erik Spoelstra said.

At 7-0 at AmericanAirlines Arena, the Heat fell to 5-5 on the road.

The good news is a Friday night home game against the league-worst Golden State Warriors that follows the Heat’s Thanksgiving break.

The not-so-good news is that is followed by a threegame trip against the Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics.

“We have to develop a competitive spirit when shots aren’t falling,” Spoelstra said.

Opening 1 of 10 on 3-pointers and unable to get a handle on either James Harden or Russell Westbrook while the game still was somewhat in the balance, the Heat were unable to cash in on the return of Justise Winslow from concussion protocol.

Harden led the Rockets with 34 points, with Westbrook adding 27 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Tyler Herro led the Heat with 22 points, while Bam Adebayo chipped in with 17 with points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Winslow shot 3 of 10 in his return for 10 points.

“I was just happy to be out there,” Winslow said, after playing an unexpected 34 minutes. “I wouldn’t say star-struck, but I felt like a rookie.”

Down by as many as 25, the Heat closed within 103-91 with 5:18 to play, but that’s when Harden followed in short order with a pair of 3-pointers.

The Heat closed the game without guard Kendrick Nunn, who suffered a bruised sternum.

Five degrees of Heat from Wednesday’s game:

1. Butler out: The Heat were without Butler for the first time since the season’s third game, having missed the opening three games for the birth of his daughter.

That had Spoelstra giving Goran Dragic his first start of the season, in order to retain a degree of playmaking in the opening unit.

The revised rotation also included a first-period appearance by forward James Johnson, who had played only two minutes in the previous seven games. Johnson was returning from Monday’s illness absence. That eight-minute stint was Johnson’s lone appearance.

2. Winslow back: Winslow entered for the first time with 4:14 to play in the first period in place of Dragic.

It was Winslow’s first action in 10 games, after sustaining a concussion in the Nov. 5 road loss to the Denver Nuggets.

“He’s been working behind the scenes,” Spoelstra said. “He hasn’t been doing real court work until this final stage, this past, about a week. He still has some catching up to do.”

Winslow had started his five previous appearances prior to the concussion, working well in tandem with Dragic at Wednesday’s close.

“The concussion symptoms were the worst thing,” Winslow said of working his way back. “The headaches, the light sensitivity. I knew I wasn’t right.”

3. Shorthanded, too: The Rockets were without starting center Clint Capela, who was battling an illness of his own, with 37-year-old Tyson Chandler starting in his place.

Capela had grabbed at least 19 rebounds in each of the previous seven games. The Rockets instead cashed in on the rebounding of Westbrook, Harden and PJ. Tucker.

4: The Harden headache: Harden entered leading the NBA at 37.9 points per game, not needed for nearly as much heavy lifting in this one.

“I’ve never seen anything like it in this league, in terms of a commitment to try to get the ball out of his hands, with multiple traps and different coverages, and he still finds a way to do historical things,” Spoelstra said. “And that’s the kind of basketball savant that he is.”

The goal, Spoelstra said, was to at least attempt to keep Harden off the line, successful there to a degree, with Harden closing 9 of 10 on free throws.

“He has the genius nuances to be able to draw fouls like I’ve never seen anybody be able to do it,” Spoelstra said. “His mind is working so quick.”

5. Cross match: The Heat opened with 6-foot-9 Adebayo defending 6-3 Westbrook, who then committed turnovers on two of Houston’s first three possessions.

“Obviously if you’re watching us, he’s defending one through five very much like an All-Defense player would,” Spoelstra said.

The Heat mixed and matched their defenses from there, including a zone in the middle of the first period.

Of putting Adebayo on Westbrook, Spoelstra said, “He’s our Swiss Army knife. I’ll put him on whoever.”