NOTES & QUOTES
Heat Starting Five: Antonio Snow, Mikal Bridges, Josh Richardson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Hassan Whiteside
Summary: Miami’s 13-game win streak has coming to a skidding halt. The Houston Rockets came into town and shut things down from the opening tip. Despite finishing with 23 points, Antonio Snow struggled with his shooting. He only hit 1 of his 11 three-point attempts. Having only scored 8 points in the first half, Miami saw themselves down by 16 points in the second half. Josh Richardson was able to k nock down a few threes to bring the Heat within 6 by halftime, but everything was going Houston’s way in this one. Hassan Whiteside couldn’t contain Clint Capella, who finished with 17 points in the Rockets big win. The Rockets are currently one game behind the Los Angeles Lakers in a race to finish first in the Western Conference.
Antonio Snow on shooting 1-11(3PT): I feel like I literally shot the squad in the foot tonight. It was not what I expected. But as crazy as it sounds, the shots felt good to me. But I need to get back in the lab and work on it some more.
James Harden on differences in last game and this one: We knew we had to get the jump on them early. That loss in Houston stung a little bit. Coming into this one we wanted to get this win. I wanted this win. I owed that to my guys. It’s great for morale heading into the playoffs.
Antonio Snow on losing 9th game this late in the season: The pressure is off. It’s finally off. I mean we can still do 73-9, right? I know it’s been done, but if we win a championship, we can distinguish ourselves. And that’s the end game for us. Secure homecourt and take home the trophy.
Top Performers
Houston Rockets
James Harden – 25 PTS, 2 REB, 10 AST
Rudy Gay – 22 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST
Chris Paul – 21 PTS, 2 REB, 11 AST
Miami Heat
Antonio Snow – 23 PTS, 2 REB, 7 AST
Josh Richardson – 15 PTS, 3 REB
Justise Winslow – 11 PTS, 2 REB, 6 AST