The Kings’ four-game winning streak came to an end on Wednesday in South Beach when they faced a team in need.
At the Kaseya Center on Wednesday, the Miami Heat defeated the Kings 115-106, delivering them their first setback
since losing to the Indiana Pacers on January 18. With his 31 points, Jimmy Butler helped the Heat snap a seven-
game losing streak. Bam Adebayo scored 16 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, while Josh Richardson contributed
24 points.
Domantas Sabonis recorded another triple-double, while second-year forward Keegan Murray had a fantastic game
to lead the Kings. De’Aaron Fox had a poor night, scoring 13 points on just 4 of 16 shots. Considering the urgency
surrounding the team’s recent collapse, Miami seemed to have more vigor. During the slump, the Heat’s usually
formidable defense had a rating of 121.2. Against Sacramento, Miami seemed to tighten things up by using a
combination of zone and standard man-to-man defenses against Fox and company. Fox later said his team’s
offensive problems were just the result of missing shots. The Kings coach, Mike Brown, stated, “We got a couple
wide-open looks.” “The truth is that Keegan was the only one who had good three-ball shooting.”
Murray made seven of his eleven long shots, compared to the other Kings’ five of 29 (17%). With 13 of their 28 shots
coming from long range, the Heat were much more effective. Sacramento’s bench was outscored 47–18 by Miami’s.
When we had to assist or had a tag, Brown added, “they just made the right pass, they made the right play, so (our
defense) was OK.” At that end of the floor, they played a very straightforward game. It was just shifted to the open
guy.
The Kings are currently playing their longest road trip of the season, seven games, starting last week in Golden State
and going to Dallas and Memphis before taking Tuesday off in South Florida. For the third game in a row on the trip,
the Kings struggled from the field, shooting only 44% after making 44% of their shots in Dallas on Saturday and 38%
in Memphis on Monday.
“I definitely think we were just missing some shots,” Fox said. “I think we got a lot of good open looks, quality looks,
and they just didn’t go down.” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was passionate about his team ending its seven-game losing
streak, the longest since he became coach in 2008. He charged on to the court and was demonstrative in challenging
a goal-tending call against Josh Richardson on a Kevin Huerter layup with 11:08 left. It led to the loudest moment of
the night from the home crowd.
Richardson pinning the ball against the glass was demonstrated by Spoelstra, who gestured towards referee Ed
Malloy. The challenge proved effective and strengthened Miami’s will to snap the losing skid. After making it to the
NBA Finals the previous season, the Heat had been steadily dropping in the Eastern Conference rankings. They
started the evening in the seventh slot, two and a half games off of an automatic postseason berth.
Brown was aware that his squad will have a difficult matchup against the reigning conference winners despite the
setback. Before the game, Brown remarked, “I don’t even look at them like (they’ve lost seven straight) because Spo
is a fantastic coach, they have great players, and they’ve been through the ringer.” Jimmy Butler, one of their players,
is among the psychologically and physically toughest guys in the NBA. Additionally, they have the ability to sprint 15
straight at any given time.
It took Sabonis until the 2:17 mark of the second quarter to score his first basket. He missed his first two free throws
and four shots to start the game. Before Sacramento went on a 7-0 run to cut Miami’s advantage to 11, the gap had
grown to as much as 18.
“We weren’t prepared to play in the first quarter, as a team,” remarked Sabonis. And it did show, particularly in the
offensive department. The reads weren’t made the way we usually do. For the most part of the match, they were in a
zone. I think the difference was that we were unable to bring them down. With at least 15 rebounds in his career,
Sabonis has recorded 17 triple-doubles, which is more than Magic Johnson and Larry Bird combined (16), for the
fifth-highest total in league history. With 13 assists, 17 rebounds, and 19 points in the end.
Murray nailed five of Sacramento’s six 3-pointers before the half to score 21 points in only 18 minutes of play in the
first half. He scored 20 points in the first half for the fourth time since joining the league, and it was his sixth half
with at least five 3-pointers. Murray scored 31 points in the end. “I just kept shooting because I felt like the basket
looked big tonight,” Murray remarked.
