Dec

7

D-Wade Drains 34, Heat Scorches Kings 115-102

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under NBA Game Recap 

Dwayne Wade

The Miami Heat, coming off a heartbreaking loss (thank you very much, Kobe Bryant!), were looking to return as a team to be reckoned with come the postseason. During their game against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night, they were without the services of Jermaine O’Neal who was away due to a family emergency. The loss of O’Neal didn’t seem to affect the Heat at all as they shot a scorching 58.6% from the floor while Dwyane Wade scored 34 points, leading Miami to a convincing 115-1032 win over Sacramento at Arco Arena.

The Kings managed to hold on to a slim 4-point lead as Jason Thompson hit a jumper with 2:16 left in the first quarter; after a Heat timeout, they would go on a 9-0 spurt, capped by a Udonis Haslem jumper at the horn, giving Miami a 30-25 lead going into the second quarter. They would build an 12-point lead on a Haslem three-point play with 6:56 left in the half; a Beno Udrih three-pointer reduced the Kings deficit to seven at 45-38. A pair of Wade free throws helped Miami build their lead up to 19, but an Udrih layup and a Tyreke Evans layup got Sacramento to within the halftime score of 59-44.

With 5:24 left in the third quarter, Evans’ driving layup capped a 13-6 Kings run, putting them to within 71-65; a Wade jumper put the Heat back to a double-digit lead at 82-69 before a pair of Evans free throws and a pair of treys by Omri Casspi allowed Sacramento to get to within 88-77 going into the final 12 minutes. With 5:41 left in the game, Udrih converted a technical free throw but a Quentin Richardson trey with 3:56 remaining sealed the win for Miami.

Three Heat players scored 20 or more points, led by Wade with 34 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists, a steal and 4 blocks while Richardson and Michael Beasley sored 20 each – with Richardson making five 3-pointers, grabbing 5 rebounds, dishing out 2 assists along with a block while Beasley grabbed 5 boards, dished out 4 assists along with a steal. Dorell Wright chipped in 19 with 2 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and a block.

The Kings were led by Evans with 30 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals while Donte Greene added 21 with 2 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal; Casspi pitched in 14 (including 4 treys) with 3 rebounds. Miami (11-9) gets a long rest as they don’t play until Friday when they return home to host the Dallas Mavericks while Sacramento (9-10) travels to the Big Easy to take on the New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday.


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