Halftime Report
The Rockets and the Heat have shown up to the game, but their offenses sure haven’t. The Rockets have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead the Heat 73-61.
The Rockets came into the match with some extra motivation after the loss they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We’ll see if they’re able to flip the script or if it’ll just be more of the same.
Who’s Playing
Miami Heat @ Houston Rockets
Current Records: Miami 15-14, Houston 21-10
How To Watch
- When: Sunday, December 29, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Toyota Center — Houston, Texas
- TV: Space City Home Network
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $46.56
What to Know
The Heat are 9-1 against the Rockets since November of 2019, and they’ll have a chance to extend that success on Sunday. Having just played yesterday, the Miami Heat will head out on the road to face off against the Houston Rockets at 7:00 p.m. ET at Toyota Center. The Heat are expected to lose this one by 8.5 points, so we’ll see if that gives them a bit of motivation.
On Saturday, the Heat came up short against the Hawks and fell 120-110.
The Heat’s defeat came about despite a quality game from Tyler Herro, who shot 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and dropped a double-double on 28 points and ten assists. That’s the most assists Herro has posted since back in November. Jaime Jaquez Jr., on the other hand, was considerably less helpful: he went 0-5 from deep.
Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, the Rockets’ good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 113-112 to the Timberwolves. The loss hurts even more since Houston was up 106-90 with 4:57 left in the fourth.
Despite the loss, the Rockets got top-tier performance from Alperen Sengun, who dropped a double-double on 38 points and 12 rebounds. Sengun had some trouble finding his footing against the Pelicans on Thursday, so this was a nice turnaround.
The Rockets struggled to work together and finished the game with only 19 assists. They were demolished by their opponents in that department as the Timberwolves posted 25.
Miami’s defeat dropped their record down to 15-14. As for Houston, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 21-10.
In addition to losing their last games, both failed to cover the spread. As for their next game, the Rockets are the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 8.5 points. There could be an interesting gambling play in this one, as they have done quite well against the spread at home this season while Miami has struggled against the spread on the road.
The Heat strolled past the Rockets in their previous matchup back in April by a score of 119-104. Will the Heat repeat their success, or do the Rockets have a better game plan this time around? We’ll find out soon enough.
Odds
Houston is a big 8.5-point favorite against Miami, according to the latest NBA odds.
The line has drifted a bit towards the Rockets, as the game opened with the Rockets as a 6.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 216.5 points.
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Series History
Miami has won 9 out of their last 10 games against Houston.
- Apr 05, 2024 – Miami 119 vs. Houston 104
- Jan 08, 2024 – Miami 120 vs. Houston 113
- Feb 10, 2023 – Miami 97 vs. Houston 95
- Dec 15, 2022 – Miami 111 vs. Houston 108
- Mar 07, 2022 – Miami 123 vs. Houston 106
- Dec 31, 2021 – Miami 120 vs. Houston 110
- Apr 19, 2021 – Miami 113 vs. Houston 91
- Feb 11, 2021 – Miami 101 vs. Houston 94
- Nov 27, 2019 – Houston 117 vs. Miami 108
- Nov 03, 2019 – Miami 129 vs. Houston 100
