Heat 95, Kings 83
Heat 95, Kings 83: Chris Bosh had 30 points and seven rebounds as Miami wrapped up its five-game road trip with a dominant win against Sacramento.
Luol Deng added 25 points and six rebounds for the Heat, who played their second straight game without leading scorer Dwyane Wade (hamstring). Shabazz Napier started in his place and finished with 12 points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists.
DeMarcus Cousins posted 17 points and 11 rebounds but was responsible for eight of the Kings’ 15 turnovers. Ben McLemore added 15 points and backcourt mate Darren Collison finished with 13 points and six assists for the Kings, who played without second-leading scorer Rudy Gay (left knee sprain).
The Heat seized control in the last two minutes of the first half and the first two minutes of the second, bridging a 12-0 run that put them up 57-44. The Kings could only trim the deficit back to 10 in the third and fell behind by as much as 17 before a 3-pointer by McLemore at the buzzer pulled Sacramento back within 14 entering the fourth but Miami prevented them from building on that momentum.
Shawne Williams sank a 3 at the first-quarter buzzer to match Miami’s biggest lead through that point of the game at 26-22. McLemore’s 3 with 2:27 left in the first half cut the deficit to one and forced a timeout by the Heat, who responded with a 7-0 run to close the half.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Heat faced a shortage of big men early on as Chris Andersen was out with an illness, starter Hassan Whiteside picked up two fouls on Cousins in the first two minutes and his replacement, Udonis Haslem, was then whistled for two fouls in his first four minutes. … The Heat are 17-2 this season when leading after three quarters and 17-0 all-time when Bosh scores at least 30. … The Heat are 5-5 without Wade this season and 13-17 with him in the lineup.