HASSAN WHITESIDE scored 25 points to lead the Miami Heat to a 109-89 comeback victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday.

    Miami was down 65-44 early in the second half. The Heat outscored Houston 65-24 the rest of the way.

    Whiteside also had 15 rebounds, Wade scored 20 points and Luol Deng scored 14 for Miami — which enjoyed its biggest comeback win since a 27-point rally at Cleveland late in the 2012-13 championship season. Tyler Johnson scored 11, Chris Bosh had all 10 of his in the fourth and Justise Winslow added 10 for the Heat.

    Marcus Thornton scored 21 points for Houston, and James Harden had 16 on 2 for 15 shooting — 0 for 10 from 3-point range. The Rockets have dropped each of their first three games by exactly 20 points each.

    ‘’You can’t have a stagnant offense and not get stops,’’ Harden said. ‘’That’s a sign of disaster, which happened in the second half.’’

    Dwight Howard sat out to rest on the first night of a back-to-back. He’s expected to play when the Rockets host Oklahoma City in a later game.

    ‘’We have not played well all preseason. We have not played well in the first three games,’’ Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. ‘’No one feels sorry for us. We just have got to go out and find our rhythm and keep on playing.’’(SD-Agencies)