The Miami Heat were handed their first loss of the season on Tuesday as the Houston Rockets came away 108-91 winners.
Miami made a couple of late runs but in the end, Houston was able to get stops and complete the win. The Rockets have the best record in the NBA with their perfect 5-0 mark while the Heat are 3-1.
One of the problems for Miami in this game was free throw shooting. While trying to mount a comeback, the Heat took a number of foul shots and missed a good portion of them. Overall in the game, Miami was 15-25 from the charity stripe. Those ten missed points proved costly when the Heat cut the deficit to as little as three down the stretch.
Another key issue for the Heat in this game was turning the ball over. As a team, Miami had 15 turnovers. Shawne Williams was the only member of the starting lineup who didn't turn the ball over at least one time.
Norris Cole could have his days numbered as a starter after another lackluster performance. The guard was held scoreless in 16 minutes on the court. Cole did have three rebounds and a pair of assists but Mario Chalmers played a little better in this one.
Chalmers who could have his starting job back at some point had 12 points in 29 minutes with five rebounds and three assists. Chalmers was not without his own problems though as he turned the ball over five times. The guard also took the second most shots on the team and was only 4-12 on those attempts.
Chris Bosh continued his fine season with a 21-point day that also featured eight boards. Bosh also stole the ball twice and was 2-4 on three-pointers. The eight rebounds slightly edged Justin Hamilton for most on the team as he had seven himself.
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The Heat will try to bounce back on Wednesday in the second half of a back-to-back at Charlotte.
