Rockets Jae'Sean Tate Takes Responsibility For Defensive Meltdown vs. Heat
Houston Rockets coach Stephen Silas had a simple message for his team during the closing seconds of Friday night's 97-95 loss to the Miami Heat — stay home.
"I said it in the huddle — stay home," Silas said. "If we would have stayed home like we said we were going to do, we would have been fine. This is just another lesson we have to learn."
It was a tied game inside FTX Arena with 0.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Rockets needed one more stop for a chance to send the game into overtime with Gabe Vincent inbounding the ball.
Jae'Sean Tate was in front of Jimmy Butler. But when he heard switch, Tate jumped out to defend Max Strus.
Tate said he thought there would be help coming from the backside. But miscommunication between Jalen Green and Daishen Nix led to a game-winning alley-oop basket for Butler.
Tate revealed he wasn't sure if it was one of his teammates or a player from the Heat calling out a switch. But he took responsibility for the loss.
"They are a smart team," Tate said. "They like to call out our calls. It was loud and all I heard was 'switch, switch, switch'...You get caught up in the spur when you see one of their best shooters wide open.
"We just miscommunicated. I should have stayed home. I should have done better, especially with the time left on the clock."
Silas described the defensive meltdown as an avalanche watching his players scramble in the final seconds. But similar to their heartbreaking defeat to the Sacramento Kings, their loss went beyond a last-second mishap.
Tate said down the stretch, the Rockets could have had better offensive execution.
They held an 89-84 lead with 3 minutes and 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter. But the Rockets only scored in three of their last nine offensive possessions and committed four turnovers.
"At the end of the day, one play does not define the game," Tate said. "I felt we should have been more aggressive, especially me. I felt like we could have gotten better results on the offensive end. There were things from start to finish that could have led to a better outcome."
Butler's game-winning basket gave him 16 points on the night, while Tyler Herro led Miami with 31 points on 11-of-20 FG, 5-of-10 from behind the arc.
Jabari Smith Jr. led Houston in scoring with 22 points (8-18 FG, 3-9 3PT), eight rebounds and a block. Tate finished with five points and four rebounds.
"We have to learn these lessons," Silas said. "If we were switching, then this one would have been on me. But we weren't."
You can follow Coty M. Davis on Twitter at @CotyDavis_24
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