The Miami Heat, who are on a short leash, defeated the Sacramento Kings 121-110 on Monday night, thanks to 28 points from Bam Adebayo and 26 from Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Caleb Martin scored 16 points and Kevin Love added 19 points off the bench to lead the Heat, who were without three starters due to ιnjury or suspension, including standout player Jimmy Butler.
“Everyone has to step up when you’re missing a guy like that,” Jaquez said. He plays such a significant role in our group, therefore it goes without saying that we miss him. Nevertheless, we still need to play a game. We want to step up for the me𝚗 that need to step up.
Domantas Sabonis of Sacramento had an NBA-high 21st triple-double of the season with 14 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists. In addition, Sabonis became the tenth player in league history to record 40 consecutive double-doubles in a single season.
Sacramento’s three-game winning run was ended as a result of their inability to build on a significant away victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, despite the team’s 28 points from Keegan Murray and 27 from De’Aaron Fox.
They performed well both offensively and defensively when they arrived here, according to Fox. “We need to improve. The ball can’t be turned over the way I did. However, it’s not as if they didn’t enter and take hard shots.
In the 57th game of the season, Miami used 30 different starting lineups as a result of the significant absences. Thomas Bryant, Nikola Jovic, and Butler were suspended for their roles in the altercation that took place in New Orleans on Friday night. Orlando Robinson (back), Josh Richardson (right shoulder), Tyler Herro (left knee), and Terry Rozier (right knee) were all sidelined due to ιnjury.
However, it didn’t stop the Heat, who had a lot of support from underappreciated players like reserve Haywood Highsmith, who scored all 15 of his points in the first half, and Delon Wright, who scored 13 points in his Miami debut.
After Sacramento went on a 20-4 run during the first quarter, the Heat held on to take a 65-62 lead at the half and continued to build from there.
Love finished the third quarter with 10 points during a 17-2 surge that put Miami up 101-81.
Coach Erik Spoelstra said, “He just allowed us to kind of go retro Kevin Love, where we were just running our offense through him.” “He’s very intelligent, athletic, and witty. You saw it tonight. He is just as terrific in brief bursts as he ever was.
The Kings attempted to rally, and in less than a minute, Kevin Huerter and Murray each drained two 3-pointers to start a 14-1 run that trimmed the lead to six points halfway through the fourth quarter on a floater by Fox.
With 3:41 remaining, Fox’s layup brought Sacramento as close as two points, but Jaquez’s consecutive buckets helped hold off the Kings.
Spoelstra said, “That’s what this group is about.” It really stopped being about coaching or anything in the huddle. Simply use your spirit of competition to find out how to win this game.