MIAMI -- Motivational halftime words from their reserve co-captain spurred the Miami Heat to an improbable comeback victory.

Center Hassan Whiteside scored 25 points as the Heat rallied and defeated the Houston Rockets 109-89 Sunday night.

Guard Dwyane Wade finished with 20 points for the Heat, who trailed by as many as 21 points early in the third period and erased a 19-point halftime deficit, outscoring the Rockets 31-12 in the third quarter. Guard Gerald Green's 3-pointer with 54 seconds remaining in the period tied it at 75-75.

The Heat credited Udonis Haslem for helping them overcome their first half doldrums.

"U.D. got on us as a captain should and we responded," Wade said. "It was all bleep, bleep, bleep. They're playing an easy ball game and not the way we like to impose our will. It was like that in the first half. They got everything they needed."

Scoreless through the first three periods, forward Chris Bosh gave Miami its first lead 85-83 on a 3-pointer with 8:11 remaining in the fourth quarter. Bosh's conversion from behind the arc was part of a 17-0 run that ended on Whiteside's dunk with 3:44 left for a 97-85 Miami lead. Bosh finished with 10 points.

Miami outscored the Rockets 34-14 in the fourth quarter. Houston shot 6-of-19 from the field and was held scoreless for a 9:02 stretch in the period.

"In the second half, we just tried to make it tough on them," Wade said. "Everything that we've been working on came into play."

Forward Luol Deng scored 14 points for Miami. The Heat also had double digit scoring from backup guard Tyler Johnson and rookie reserve forward Justise Winslow, who finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Whiteside also had 15 rebounds.

"Different guys will be counted on different nights and different contributions from one half to another," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Guys stepped off the bench to give us a boost of energy in the third quarter and we finished it out in the fourth quarter."

Houston was held without a field goal for a 9:02 stretch in the fourth quarter. The loss was the Rockets' third straight by 20-points.

"We have not played well all preseason, we have not played well in the first three games," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "No one is going to feel sorry for us so we just have to go out and find our rhythm and keep playing."

Guard Marcus Thornton scored 21 points to lead Houston, and guard James Harden finished with 16 points but was to two points in the second half.

"We stopped moving the ball, we stopped covering for each other," Harden said. "We just never regrouped."

The Rockets played without center Dwight Howard, who sat out because of a sore back. Behind Thornton's 19 first-half points, Houston built an early double-digit lead.

Thornton hit five of six 3-pointers as the Rockets converted on 9 of 20 from beyond the arc in the first two periods. Thornton's fifth 3-pointer with 49 seconds remaining gave Houston its biggest lead of the first half at 63-42.

The Heat missed their first 10 3-point attempts and Bosh missed his first six shots.

In the first quarter, Miami rallied from a nine-point deficit to cut Houston's lead to 35-30 at the end of the period.

Consecutive 3-pointers from guard Patrick Beverly and guard Jason Terry negated the early Miami comeback and helped Houston open the second quarter with 10 unanswered points.

NOTES: Houston signed C Chuck Hayes on Sunday. Hayes, 32, played his first six seasons with Houston before signing with the Sacramento Kings in 2011. The Toronto Raptors allowed his contract to expire at the end of last season. ... F Terrence Jones sat out Sunday's game after he suffered a cut on his right eyelid during a loss to Golden State on Friday night. ... Sunday's game is the first of a lengthy stretch of home dates for Miami in November. With the exception of visits to Minnesota and Indiana on Friday and Saturday, Miami will play nine of its first 11 November games at home. ... Miami activated C Amare Stoudemire for his first home game with the Heat. An offseason free-agent acquisition, Stoudemire was inactive for the season opener against Charlotte on Wednesday before making his Heat debut at Cleveland on Friday.