Three Takeaways from the Rockets' Wild Win over the Heat

It was a special night for the Houston Rockets, who built on the momentum from the win against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday with an incredible victory over the Miami Heat 123-122 on Saturday at home in Toyota Center.

While Kevin Durant passed Michael Jordan for fifth on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 32,294 points, it was Amen Thompson who willed the Rockets to the wild win with a buzzer-beating put-back layup. The Rockets gave up a 3-point lead in the last 13 seconds, but Thompson saved the historic night for Houston.

Durant was fitttingly the leading scorer with 27 points on 9/17 shooting. The Rockets shot 52% overall and were 46% from three (16/35). All five starters were in double digits.

Here are three takeaways from this action-packed game.

Comeback in the Fourth

Mar 21, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard (15) dribbles against the Miami Heat in the first quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Heat went up 11 points again at 98-87 at the start of the fourth quarter, as they did back in the first. The Rockets heated up from beyond the arc, and Jabari Smith Jr. hit massive back-to-back 3-pointers to get Houston back in the game. Reed Sheppard followed that up with his own trey, before Alperen Sengun found a cutting Thompson to the rim for the go-ahead slam.

Aaron Holiday buried consecutive deep threes, and the Rockets suddenly led by four at 109-105 with just over six minutes left.

It was an 18-3 outburst from Houston, led by some strong zone defense and clutch shot-making. Holiday continued to contribute and threw down a rare dunk. Durant came through with back-to-back 3-pointers of his own. Durant passed Jordan on the all-time scoring list on that last triple.

Just when it seemed like the Rockets were in control with a 121-118 lead, Bam Adebayo hit two free throws then a steal on the inbound to take an improbable 122-121 lead with just over four seconds left. It was a 10-2 run by the Heat at the end, but the Rockets survived.

First Quarter Run

The Heat went on a 23-3 run and got out to a 23-11 lead early in the first quarter after the Rockets were up 8-0 after a Sengun bucket.

The Rockets somehow led 32-29 at the end of the first. Houston answered Miami’s impressive run with one of its own. The Rockets went on a 21-8 run in the first quarter to end up with the lead. Sheppard played a big part of that with a couple of threes, while Durant got to work.

Rockets Great Backcourt Performance

Sheppard was back in the starting lineup and put on a show. Sheppard put up 18 points in 18 minutes on 6/9 shooting from the field. He was also 4/6 from three in the first half and had 0 turnovers plus five assists. Sheppard made a buzzer-beating floater at the end of the first and got three steals on defense.

Thompson continued his high level of play with 16 first-half points, eight rebounds, three assists, and one block with just one turnover. Thompson was the second-leading scorer in the game with a huge 24 point and 18 rebound double-double. Sheppard was third with 23 points total on 8/12 from the field. The second year guard got a double-double as well in his second straight start with 14 assists as well as four steals.

Up next, the Rockets travel out to Chicago to take on the Bulls on Monday night.