Miami Heat vs Sacramento Kings (115 - 84) January 23, 2010

Heat burn Kings 115-84

By Chris Perkins, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday January 23, 2010 11:13PM
MIAMI (NBA.com exclusive) -- The mysterious Miami Heat added another chapter to their somewhat baffling season in Saturday's 115-84 victory over Sacramento at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Among their last five games the Heat had a blowout loss at Oklahoma City (98-80), a blowout victory over Indiana (113-83), a blowout loss at Charlotte (104-65), a blowout win at Washington (112-88) and Saturday's blowout victory over the Kings.

Actually, that's pretty much the way the season has been for the Heat, which improved its record to 23-20. There's been no consistency, and very little explanation for the inconsistency. But on Saturday, every aspect of the game was pleasing for Miami.

"It's always good to get these kinds of wins, to come out and take care of business," said Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who led all scorers with 27 points in just 30 minutes.

Sacramento (15-28), on the other hand, ended a dreadful road trip with a dreadful 0-6 showing. The Kings have now lost 11 of their last 12 games. And they continued getting dominated by Miami. The Heat, which is now just 2-6 on the second night of back-to-back games, has beaten the Kings in 11 of their last 12 meetings, including eight consecutive in Miami.

Kings rookie guard Tyreke Evans did his best to barge his 6-foot-6, 220-pound body into the lane for layups, something he's excelled at doing this season, but his effort barely made a dent in the Heat's lead.

"I thought our defense, rebounding, poise and energy left a lot to be desired," Sacramento coach Paul Westphal said. "That's what happens when you play against a team that played as well as they did."

Miami took a 24-14 first-quarter lead and allowed Sacramento to get within 33-31 early in the second quarter before putting the game away for good with a 23-6 run to take a 56-37 lead. The Heat led, 65-45, at halftime, and the Kings didn't get any closer than 19 points in the second half.

That's not exactly how the past month or so has been for Sacramento. They've played some close games. But the bottom line is most of them have ended in losses. Westphal is trying to take a big picture approach with his young team, which includes Evans, second-year forward Jason Thompson, rookie forward Omri Casspi and high-scoring guard Kevin Martin, who has missed 32 of the Kings' 44 games due to a left wrist injury.

"We have a lot of players who have exceeded expectations and have moved their timeline of development forward," he said, "but at the same time it's never fast enough."

Miami, which is fighting off Charlotte, Toronto and Chicago for the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, has now won five of its last seven games. But the Heat has a difficult task Monday when superstar forward LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers come to South Florida.

Regardless, it'll enjoy this victory. Miami is only 13-10 at home.

For Sacramento, this loss was the continuation of a long nightmare. After starting the season with a respectable 13-14 record the Kings have lost 14 of their last 16 games. Their issue of not having a capable big man becomes more pronounced with every week. On Saturday, the starting frontcourt of center Jon Brockman (six points, five rebounds) and forwards Donte Greene (eight points, one rebound) and Jason Thompson (six points, seven rebounds) combined for 20 points and 13 rebounds against the not-so-feared Heat frontcourt of center Jermaine O'Neal and forwards Michael Beasley (21 points, 13 rebounds) and Quentin Richardson, which combined for 42 points and 23 rebounds. Things didn't get much better when Kings coach Paul Westphal went to his talent-depleted bench. Center Spencer Hawes scored in double figures but no one else was a factor for the dead-legged Kings.

"It's not easy out on the road with long trips and young teams in this league," Westphal said. "We've really struggled shooting the ball and defending the paint. When you combine those two things it's usually a recipe for a losing road trip."

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Miami Heat vs Sacramento Kings (115 - 84) January 23, 2010

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Miami Heat vs Sacramento Kings (115 - 84) January 23, 2010

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Miami Heat vs Sacramento Kings (115 - 84) January 23, 2010