MIAMI (AP) — Victor Oladipo scored 11 points in in his first game in nearly a year, Tyler Herro scored 21 of his 31 points in the second quarter and the Miami Heat beat the Houston Rockets 123-106 on Monday night.
Oladipo, playing his first game since April 8 following a second surgery to repair a right quadriceps tendon, and made an immediate impact. He took a charge on his first defensive possession, hitting the deck without any signs of problems, then took another later in the game and had a dunk near the end of his 15-minute stint.
Jimmy Butler scored 21 points for Miami, which got Kyle Lowry back after a four-game absence for personal reasons. Bam Adebayo finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat.
Kevin Porter Jr. scored 22 points for Houston, which got 20 from Jalen Green, 16 from Josh Christopher and 14 from KJ Martin. Green was 4 for 4 from 3-point range in the game’s first 5:40, then missed his final six tries from beyond the arc.
The Heat trailed by 13 late in the first half before Herro scored 15 points in a 23-6 run over the final 4:35 before intermission. Butler had the other eight points in that run for the Heat, a burst capped by Herro making a 3-pointer with 29 seconds left and then a 36-footer just before the buzzer.
But the story was Oladipo, who was 4 for 7 from the field, 2 for 3 from 3-point range, plus had four assists against his former team. He was with the Rockets briefly last season, before getting traded to Miami and playing in just four games before being shut down for a second surgery on the leg he originally injured in 2019.
Rockets coach Stephen Silas had Oladipo in Houston last season and said he enjoyed their 20 games together.
“He’s competitive. He wants to do things the right way. He is a fighter. For him to fight through all of the injuries that he’s had and manage the ups and downs and the emotional part of what he’s been through is admirable,” Silas said. “And he’s just a great guy, a really good person to kind of sit down and talk to.”
TIP-INS
Rockets: PG John Wall, who missed his 77th consecutive game dating back to last season, was in attendance. … An off-court item that the Rockets pointed to as a positive came a few nights ago, when Christian Wood — who missed Monday’s game with an non-COVID-related illness — rented out a movie theater to take teammates to see “The Batman,” which was released Friday. “That’s growth from Christian to do that. … We’ve had a lot of cool moments,” Silas said.
Heat: Miami had more than just Oladipo playing with ties to Houston. Lowry and P.J. Tucker both spent parts of four seasons with the Rockets and Butler is a Houston-area native. … Lowry was scoreless, missing all three of his shots. … Gabe Vincent and Max Strus were out of the regular rotation with Lowry and Oladipo playing.
22 OVER
At 44-22, Miami is 22 games over the .500 mark for the first time since the end of the 2013-14 season. The Heat remained three games ahead of Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference standings.
STILL OUT
Rockets guard Dennis Schröder missed his fourth consecutive game with a sprained right ankle. “He’s been able to do his rehab. He’s been on the floor for a couple of days. He’s just trying to get to 100%,” Silas said.
UP NEXT
Rockets: Host the L.A. Lakers on Wednesday.
Heat: Host Phoenix on Wednesday.