Heat vs. Rockets Preview
Houston, TX (AP) – The Miami Heat have been utterly dominant on the road in December, with only one of their nine consecutive wins coming by fewer than 10 points.
Their final test of the month might be their toughest.
The Houston Rockets have won five straight overall and eight in a row at the Toyota Center, leaving Miami with an imposing challenge Wednesday night as it looks to reach its third double-digit road winning streak in franchise history.
According to NBA odds and oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made the Heat 5-point spread favorites for Wednesday’s game against the Rockets. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 88% of more than 386 bets for this game have been placed on the Heat -5.
Miami (24-9) has started to look like the juggernaut many expected it to be, going 14-1 in December and outscoring its opponents by an average of 13.7 points.
A 106-98 victory over the New York Knicks on Tuesday was a rarity – just the third of those wins that wasn’t by double digits. The Knicks cut a 22-point Heat lead to three with 2:02 left, but Dwyane Wade had seven of his season-high 40 points from there to help seal it.
“My teammates did a great job, especially in the fourth, of looking for me,” said Wade, who scored 15 of Miami’s 21 points in the last 8:30. “Guys did a great job getting me the ball in my sweet spots and I was able to attack.”
It was the 16th straight time the Heat held an opponent under 100. With a win Wednesday, Miami will set a franchise record for victories in any month.
“It took a few weeks, maybe a month, maybe a month-plus for us to feel comfortable with one another on the court,” said LeBron James, who finished two assists shy of his third triple-double in six games. “But we figured that out.”
The Heat – and James in particular – have been at their best on the road. Miami won its nine road games in December by an average of 16.1 points, and a victory against the Rockets (15-15) would give the franchise its first 10-game winning streak away from home since an 11-game run Feb. 4-March 7, 1998.
James has been the catalyst. He’s averaged 29.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.2 assists while shooting 55.7 percent on the road this month.
The Heat won 115-106 in Houston last season behind 37 points from Wade, but the Toyota Center has rarely been one of James’ favorite venues. He averaged 23.9 points and shot a woeful 37.3 percent – easily his worst in any arena – during seven road games against the Rockets while with Cleveland.
Houston has been just as tough to crack at home lately. After dropping four of five there to begin the season, the Rockets have won their last eight at the Toyota Center by an average of 10.8 points.
After beginning the season 0-5, Houston got back to .500 for the first time Monday, bouncing back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Washington, 100-93 – its fifth straight win.
“From where we started, we should feel good about our road back to .500,” said Kevin Martin, who’s averaged 24.9 points during the last eight home games. “It’s not actually being at .500, because for the season, we have better goals than that. Our road back to .500, the way everybody is playing, that’s what we should feel relieved about.”
The Rockets are 14-8 when Martin scores 20 points and 1-7 when he scores 19 or fewer.
Martin, however, has never had much success against the Heat. His 12.4-point career average and 32.6 percent shooting versus Miami are his worst numbers against any opponent.
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