Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Return of the Herro in the Heat’s win in Houston over the Rockets

The touring Heat got back on track in Houston, controlling the boards and feasting in transition in Tyler Herro’s comeback.

The Rockets were missing Alperen Şengün (ankle-out for rest of regular season) and Amen Thompson (ankle).

Early, the Rockets tallied five baskets in the lane and connected on four of 11 triples. Dillon Brooks made three of those trays; two were over decent contests by Terry Rozier and Nikola Jović. But Fred VanVleet struggled with Haywood Highsmith tagging his drive, misfired facing Duncan Robinson in the corner and bricked another deep jumper as Rozier challenged at the last second after going over the screen.

On the Heat side, Jimmy Butler took charge, tearing through his matchup on his way to the cup and nailing four free throws. Caleb Martin scored in the open court and off a wing cut. And with 3:42 left in the first quarter, Herro stepped on the court for the first time since the Heat’s win in New Orleans on Feb. 23. First, he set up Butler on the break for a dunk; next, he made a transition pull-up jumper at the elbow over Jock Londale.

After 12 minutes, the game was tied at 27, with the Heat shooting 50% from the field as the Rockets converted 40.9%.

Then Bam Adebayo blew up the Rockets’ defenses in the second quarter. He hunted Cam Whitmore and Aaron Holiday to score at close range, soared coast-to-coast for a layup, produced off a pick-and-roll set with Herro and filed four freebies.

Rozier chipped in, adding eight points, intercepting VanVleet’s pass and ripping the ball from Jalen Green’s grasp. And Herro dribbled past Jeff Green and Jabari Smith for a layup and got to the rim in transition with VanVleet on his hip. The rest of the Heatles made five of 10 shots in the quarter.

But the hosts were answering back almost as easily. Smith broke the zone with a shot at the nail and hit two corner triples. Green provided eight more points, and VanVleet put up seven.

At halftime, the Heat was up 64-59. The crew had 36 paint points, 12 on the break, nine via second chances, 13 after turnovers and 20 from the bench.

Butler had 15 points on four of eight looks, with one assist and a steal. Adebayo accumulated 14 on his scoring ledger on 83.3% accuracy, with six rebounds, two assists and a steal. Rozier put up 10 points on five attempts, with two dimes and two steals. And Herro had six points on six tries and picked up a rebound and four dimes.

The Rockers had 18 interior points, four in the open court, seven on added tries, six after turnovers and 11 from the reserves.

Brooks had 14 points on five of eight opportunities, with three rebounds, an assist and a steal. And Smith and Green had 11 marks and two helpings apiece.

Afterward, Butler spun past Reggie Bullock in the lane for two points, buried an open corner three and made two free throws in the third quarter. Additionally, Jović, who played less than seven minutes in the first half, got seven in the third and canned two 3-pointers. Duncan Robinson contributed seven points, too.

Defensively, the Heat getting back in transition and its man-to-man coverage held the hosts to seven of 23 baskets in the third quarter.

The fourth frame started with the Heat up 83-73. In fewer than two minutes, Whitmore’s cutting layup and Green’s two triples cut the advantage to four points. Yet, the Heat’s protections recalibrated and permitted five of 23 baskets the rest of the way.

While the Rockets were still within striking distance, Herro dribbled left past Green from the top to the rim for two points, splashed a fastbreak bomb and sunk two freebies. And Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s 10-point burst helped put away the Rockets.

The Heat won 119-104. The squad picked up 56 paint points, 17 on the break, 15 via second chances, 15 after turnovers and 48 from the bench.

Butler logged 22 points on six of 14 attempts, with three rebounds, three assists and a steal. Adebayo had 18 points on 58.3% shooting, with 12 boards, six assists, one steal and a block. And Herro put 17 on his scorecard on seven of 14 tries and picked up five rebounds and six dimes.

The Rockets had 34 interior points, 15 in the open court, 15 on extra tries, 15 after turnovers and 26 from the reserves.

Green dropped 21 points on 33.3% accuracy, with seven rebounds, six assists, two steals and three turnovers. Brooks produced 18 on his ledger on six of 18 attempts, with four rebounds and three assists. And Smith had 15 points on 12 ventures and recovered eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.

Herro handled the on-court interview. He said it was a great win on the second night of a back-to-back set. When asked about what was hardest during his absence (20 games because of a foot injury), Herro said, “It wasn’t a huge injury, but it was something that kept lingering on… But I ultimately took a couple of weeks off, and I was able to get back healthy enough to come out here and play. I’m happy to be back and [get a] great win.”

At the postgame presser, coach Erik Spoelstra was asked about his thoughts on bouncing back from Thursday’s loss. He said, “You don’t have to be a mind reader to figure out how we felt getting onto that plane [Thursday] after a disappointing loss… It was a good response tonight. This was not an easy team to play on a back-to-back with [their] speed and athleticism. Also, their desperation- knowing they had to win this game to stay in it. We feel grateful that we were able to get this one tonight.”

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