Last week: Lost at Memphis 118-111, won at Philadelphia 108-104, beat New York 129-114
This week: Monday vs. Utah, Friday vs. Indiana, Saturday vs. Philadelphia
The Miami Heat stubbed their collective toe a bit to open the week, losing at Memphis, but followed up with a good road win at Philadelphia — where they had lost by 27 on Nov. 23 — and came home to open a four-game homestand with a win over the Knicks.
Bam Adebayo continued his surge, averaging 19.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.7 blocks in 35.7 minutes per game, shooting 51.4 percent overall and missing his lone 3-point attempt. Adebayo scored 23 points with nine rebounds and five assists in the win at Philadelphia.
Last week: Beat San Antonio 109-107, won at Clippers 122-117, won at Phoenix 139-125
This week: Monday at Sacramento, Wednesday at Golden State, Saturday vs. Brooklyn
The Houston Rockets put together a 3-0 week, getting a comeback win over the Clippers in LA, and have now won five of their last six and seven of their last nine. Only Miami gets to the free throw line more than the Rockets (24.4 attempts per game, per Cleaning the Glass) and Houston has the third-ranked offense at 114.3 points per 100 possessions.
Meanwhile, James Harden continues to be … James Harden. In the three games, Harden averaged 34.3 points (bringing his season average down), 8.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in 35.5 minutes per game, shooting 45.8 percent overall and 41.9 percent on a still mind-blowing 14.3 3-point attempts a night. He had 47 points in the win at Phoenix on Saturday.