Heat 117, Kings 97
LeBron James scored 31 points and the Miami Heat took control from the outset and overwhelmed the visiting Sacramento Kings 117-97 on Tuesday night.
Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh added 23 and 22 points, respectively, as the Heat (42-15) breezed to their third consecutive victory and 11th in their last 12 games. Wade added eight rebounds and seven assists.
Playing in its first game after the All-Star break, Miami never gave the outmanned Kings a faint hope, and stormed to a 35-16 lead after one quarter behind 14 points from James.
Miami shot 72.7 percent and outrebounded Sacramento 18-7 in the opening quarter, which it capped with a 7-0 run on two jumpers by James sandwiched around a 3-pointer by James Jones.
The Heat led by as many as 26 points in the second quarter before settling for a 63-44 halftime margin.
Samuel Dalembert had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Kings (13-41), losers of three straight without leading scorer Tyreke Evans, who is expected to miss three weeks with plantar fasciitis.