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It was the kind of game that Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said should
surprise nobody.
"We've said this all along," he said. "It's going to be a harrowing
ride down the stretch."
Spoelstra was speaking of the Heat's drive to win a division
championship for the first time in three seasons, but he might as
well have been summarizing his team's fight to hold off Sacramento.
The Heat saw a 24-point lead dwindle to a point in the second half
before holding off the Kings and moving into a tie atop the
Southeast Division.
Playing without guard Dwyane Wade, the Heat rode Gerald Green's
season-high 30 points and key buckets in the final minute from Luol
Deng and Joe Johnson to post their fifth victory in seven games.
Miami (44-31) stayed tied with the Charlotte Hornets (44-31) for the
Southeast Division lead and moved percentage points ahead of Atlanta
Hawks (45-32), a 110-108 overtime loser to the Cleveland Cavaliers
on Friday.
The three teams take up the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 spots in the Eastern
Conference standings.
"All of us are in virtually the same spot for a reason. It's very
even," Spoelstra said. "So you can get caught watching the other
teams, but ultimately it's in our hands, and you have to go out
there and do it. You can't wait for somebody else to not do it."
Wade sat out after injuring his neck while taking a hard fall in
Miami's loss at the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. Green
responded by making 8 of 10 shots en route to a 15-point first
quarter, and Miami shot 58 percent from the floor in the first three
quarters.
The Heat saw most of that work go to waste in the fourth quarter.
The Kings cut an 87-63 third-quarter deficit to 105-104 with under
90 seconds left, but Johnson's short jumper and a 3-pointer by Deng
on Miami's next possession amid the din of stomping, hollering by
Kings fans helped the Heat hold on.
Deng finished with 17 points. Teammate Gorgan Dragic had 18 points
and seven assists, and Johnson finished with 14 points and eight
assists.
"When that noise is there, you really want to make the shot," Deng
said. "I've missed a lot of shots when it's been quiet."
Kosta Koufos' dunk for Sacramento made it 110-106. After a Miami
offensive foul on Johnson, Rudy Gay missed back-to-back shots inside
the key, and Koufous missed a putback on the same possession to seal
the deal.
Darren Collison scored 11 of his season-best 26 points in the fourth
quarter to lead the desperate Kings rally.
Sacramento blitzed Miami with a 41-18 run that bridged the third and
fourth quarters. But the Kings still couldn't avoid the end of their
three-game home losing streak, and they were swept by the Heat for
the eighth time in nine seasons.
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The Kings also were mathematically eliminated from playoff
contention, the 10th consecutive season they will be left out of the
postseason.
"We just tried to put pressure on them," Collison said. "It's
actually been tough playing under these circumstances, but it's a
profession. We've got to keep playing, and we've got to keep playing
hard."
Sacramento fell to 2-11 without center DeMarcus Cousins, whose
one-game suspension for receiving his NBA-high 16th technical foul
in Wednesday's win over the Washington Wizards was upheld by the
league. It was the third suspension that Cousins received this
season.
The Kings also lost reserve forward Omri Casspi in the second
quarter to a hamstring injury.
"It's tough," Collision said. "We've also been dealing with
injuries, and we've been dealing with other things off the court.
I'm just proud of the guys that have continued to stay with it,
continued to fight."
Seth Curry matched a career best with 21 points for the Kings, and
Gay produced 20 points and 11 rebounds.
The Kings outscored Miami 46-36 in the paint and forced 18
turnovers.
NOTES: Heat G Dwyane Wade is not expected to play Saturday at
Portland. The 34-year-old Wade, who is in his 13th season, has
missed consecutive games only one other time this season. ... C
DeMarcus Cousins missed both of Sacramento's games against Miami
this season while serving a suspension. He missed the Nov. 19 game
at Miami for throwing a forearm at Atlanta F Al Horford. Cousins
also sat out a March 11 home game against Orlando while serving his
suspension for conduct detrimental to the team after berating coach
George Karl on the sideline. ... Heat assistant coach Keith Smart,
undergoing skin cancer treatment in San Francisco, visited the team
during its morning shootaround. He told the Fort Lauderdale
Sun-Sentinel that his goal is to be back on the Miami bench for the
playoffs. ... Karl told reporters that Cousins won't play in any of
the Kings' final three road games, starting Saturday in Denver.
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