Houston Rockets (13-42, 15th in the Western Conference) vs. Miami Heat (30-25, sixth in the Eastern Conference)
Miami; Friday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Houston faces the Miami Heat after Jalen Green scored 41 points in the Rockets' 130-128 loss to the Sacramento Kings.
The Heat are 18-9 in home games. Miami is second in the Eastern Conference in team defense, giving up only 108.4 points while holding opponents to 47.7% shooting.
The Rockets are 5-22 in road games. Houston ranks eighth in the Western Conference scoring 53.2 points per game in the paint led by Alperen Sengun averaging 11.2.
The teams play for the second time this season. In the last meeting on Dec. 16 the Heat won 111-108 led by 41 points from Tyler Herro, while Green scored 22 points for the Rockets.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jimmy Butler is averaging 22 points, six rebounds, five assists and 2.1 steals for the Heat. Bam Adebayo is averaging 22.2 points over the last 10 games for Miami.
Green is shooting 34.0% from beyond the arc with 2.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Rockets, while averaging 22 points and 3.6 assists. Sengun is shooting 60.2% and averaging 15.6 points over the last 10 games for Houston.
LAST 10 GAMES: Heat: 6-4, averaging 107.4 points, 41.8 rebounds, 23.3 assists, 8.8 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 45.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.8 points per game.
Rockets: 3-7, averaging 113.0 points, 47.6 rebounds, 24.4 assists, 5.7 steals and 6.6 blocks per game while shooting 48.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 120.8 points.
INJURIES: Heat: Victor Oladipo: out (ankle), Kyle Lowry: out (knee), Nikola Jovic: out (back), Omer Yurtseven: out (ankle), Duncan Robinson: out (finger).
Rockets: Kevin Porter Jr.: out (foot), Garrison Mathews: out (toe).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
