MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Heat were missing their three leading scorers, and still had more than enough to get past the Houston Rockets.
Kendrick Nunn scored a season-high 30 points, Duncan Robinson and Goran Dragic each added 19 and Miami beat Houston 113-91 on Monday night.
The Heat were playing without Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro — a trio that averages 55 points per game — and outscored Houston 59-36 after halftime.
Andre Iguodala scored 16 for Miami (30-28), which closed within 1 ½ games of No. 4 Atlanta and a game of No. 5 Boston and No. 6 New York in the Eastern Conference standings.
Kevin Porter Jr. and Christian Wood each scored 18 for the Rockets, who have dropped 33 of their last 37 games. John Wall scored 14 for Houston.
The Rockets were without Sterling Brown, after the team said he was assaulted by unknown assailants and suffered facial lacerations one night earlier. The NBA said it was looking into the incident, and the Rockets said Brown — who agreed to a $750,000 settlement last year after being shocked with a Taser and arrested in a 2018 encounter with police in Milwaukee — would recover.
Houston led 55-54 at the half, and the third quarter turned it all around for Miami. The Heat outscored the Rockets 35-19, with Nunn and Robinson combining for 19 points and five 3-pointers in that quarter alone.
Wood’s 3-pointer with 6:26 left got Houston within 15. Miami then went on a 14-0 run to turn the game into a runaway.
