The Houston Rockets tied an NBA record with 23 made 3- pointers in a huge Tuesday night victory, but things won't be that easy on Wednesday when they visit the defending champion Miami Heat.
The Rockets buried 23 treys in a 140-109 rout of the Golden State Warriors in Houston on Tuesday. That matched an NBA record originally set by the Orlando Magic on Jan. 13, 2009.
The 140 points were a season-high, as was a 77-point first half.
"I really didn't even know we had a chance to break the record until late in the game," said Rockets coach Kevin McHale. "We shoot a lot of 3's, that's just what we do. If we were to get them in the flow, we were going to get them."
Some Warriors didn't think the Rockets were taking 3's in the flow late in the game and their coach, Mark Jackson, instructed them to foul so Houston couldn't take the long-range shots. A scrum ensued and Houston's Marcus Morris and Golden State's Draymond Green were both ejected.
"Mark's got to coach his team, I have no problem with that," McHale said.
The Rockets shot 57.5 percent from beyond the arc, which was better than their 50.5 field-goal shooting for the night. Jeremy Lin made five, James Harden and Chandler Parsons had four apiece, Morris sank three, James Anderson and Toney Douglas drained two each and Patrick Patterson, Patrick Beverly and Donatas Motiejunas each converted one.
Omer Asik and Greg Smith were the only Rockets who saw action that didn't make a 3-pointer.
Things won't be nearly that easy on Wednesday.
The Heat have won two in a row, three of four and seven of nine. Wednesday will mark the second in a five-game homestand, where Miami is 19-3 on the season.
On Monday, the Heat earned a hard-fought victory at home over the Charlotte Bobcats, 99-94. That was the first game after a four-game road trip where the Heat went 2-2.
LeBron James paced the Heat with 31 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals. James shot a career-best 93 percent from the field after going 13- for-14. His only missed attempt was a blown layup.
"I don't cry about fouls. I got fouled on it," James teased after the game. "I knew I hadn't missed a shot. I missed a free throw. It happened in a win, that's always cool when you can help your team win games."
Chris Bosh (23) and Dwyane Wade (20) also scored in double figures for the Heat.
The Rockets are the NBA's second-best scoring team at almost 106 ppg. The Heat have inched up the ladder in opponents' scoring and currently sit 12th at 96.5 ppg.
The Heat have won six in a row against the Rockets, including a 113-110 victory in Houston on Nov. 12. Houston hasn't won in Miami since Nov. 24, 2008, losing three in a row there.
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