Friday 21 December 2018 06:09, UK
Josh Richardson scored 22 points as the Miami Heat overcame another strong performance by James Harden, defeating the visiting Houston Rockets 101-99 on Thursday night.
Houston's Eric Gordon missed a three-pointer from the left wing with 0.6 seconds left as the Rockets had their five-game win streak snapped. Gordon finished with 20 points.
Miami, who won their third straight contest, were also led by Tyler Johnson, who scored 19 points despite missing practice on Wednesday due to a severe migraine headache. Heat center Hassan Whiteside added nine points and a game-high 17 rebounds.
Harden, the reigning NBA MVP, contributed 35 points, 12 assists, six rebounds and two steals.
However, Houston's star point guard, Chris Paul, injured his left hamstring in the first half. He went straight to the locker room and did not return, contributing four points and four assists in 12 minutes.
Miami, playing their first game since All-Star point guard Goran Dragic had knee surgery, started Johnson for just the third time this season, and he came up big.
Houston got off to a good start, using a 15-2 run to lead 33-21 after the first quarter. Houston outshot Miami in the quarter, 47.6 per cent to 30.4 per cent. Houston also made three times as many three-pointers in the period, shooting 6-of-12.
Harden, who had an 11-point first quarter, added nine in the second period. But the Heat, who trailed by as many as 16 points in the quarter, rallied to cut Houston's lead to 58-53 at half-time.
Miami took their first lead of the game with 7:48 left in the third quarter on a lay-up by James Johnson. The Heat kept pushing and outscored Houston 29-18 in the third, heading into the fourth with an 82-76 lead.
Miami's lead stretched to 11 points early in the fourth quarter before Houston made a run.
In the end, though, the Heat, coming off a successful 4-2 road trip, improved to 9-4 against Western Conference teams this season.
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