NBA: Heat triumphant late over Harden, Houston

The young Houston Rockets (3-4) squad will regret letting this one slip away. Up by eight points in the fourth quarter, the Rockets let their lead slip away, allowing the Miami Heat (6-2) to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, 113-110, Monday (Tuesday, PHL time) at the Toyota Center in Houston. A Marcus Morris triple gave Houston a 101-93 lead with 6:13 left to play, but a triple by James and four points from Chris Bosh sandwiched a Patrick Patterson jumper, making it a three-point affair and drawing a Houston timeout. Off the quick break, Patterson drew a foul from Shane Battier, but could only make one-of-two, 104-100. The two sides then exchanged two triples each, before LeBron James put the Heat on his back, scoring five unanswered, including the go-ahead score, to give his team the lead for good, 111-110, with 18.6 ticks left. Houston called for time again, but Jeremy Lin's triple was short. Carlos Delfino quickly fouled Dwyane Wade, who had collared the rebound, and Wade responded by clanking both charities. Unfortunately for the Rockets, they were unable to secure the rebound, which fell to Chris Bosh. Houston fouled the big man, and Bosh canned both, to make it a three-point affair. The Rockets used their final timeout, but with 7.1 seconds left, the best look they were able to get was a James Harden trey with James draped all over him that missed, allowing the Heat to avoid falling twice in a row for the first time this season. LeBron James scored 38 points to lead all players. He also added 10 rebounds and six assists, going without a turnover in nearly 40 minutes of play. Chris Bosh had a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Dwyane Wade chimed in 19. The Rockets got career nights from two of their starters, but it wasn't enough for them to pick up the "W." Chandler Parsons established his new career-high in scoring, 25 points, making 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, while center Omer Asik also put up a career-best mark, 19 points, along with 14 assists. James Harden scored 22 points but needed 17 attempts, while Jeremy Lin tallied just nine points and six assists. The Heat seemed in full control early on, coming out to a 22-5 start. Houston however slowly reeled them back in, tying the game at 75-all on a Harden basket with 3:10 left in the third. They then took the lead up until James' fourth quarter explosion. - AMD, GMA News