Heat 116, Kings 109
MIAMI -- The Miami Heat took advantage of the depleted Sacramento Kings, who were without their top two scorers by game's end and simply did not have enough down the stretch.
Already down center DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings lost forward Rudy Gay in the second half Thursday night at AmericanAirlines Arena, and the Heat prevailed 116-109.
Forward Chris Bosh led the Heat with 23 points and 11 rebounds while guard Dwyane Wade was the top scorer with 24 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Kings guard Rajon Rondo came up a rebound shy of his fifth triple-double in seven nights, finishing with one point, nine boards and a season-high 18 assists.
Sacramento got to within five as Miami led by as much as 16 in the fourth quarter, but the Kings came up empty on several late possessions while Wade and forward Luol Deng hit free throws to wrap it up.
The Heat (7-4) improve to 4-1 on the current seven-game homestand.
The Kings (4-9), on the second night of a back-to-back, start a five-game Eastern Conference road trip 0-2.
Cousins was out serving a one-game suspension for hitting Hawks center Al Horford with a forearm to the head in Wednesday's loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Gay made his exit at the 5:16 mark of the third quarter and finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Heat guard Tyler Johnson gave the Heat a spark with an efficient 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting off the bench as starting guard Goran Dragic missed his first six field-goal attempts and ended up in single digits with nine points.
Kings forward Marco Bellinelli led Sacramento with 23 points off the bench and connected on five of his 11 three-point attempts. The Kings shot 12-of-23 on triples as a team. Forward Omri Casspi had 16 points and center Willie Cauley-Stein added 11, fouling out with 2:04 remaining.
The Heat went on a 10-0 run in the middle of the third quarter to go up 72-61 after the Kings nearly erased a 12-point first-half deficit to creep within one. Wade scored six of the 10 points on the run.
Heat center Hassan Whiteside scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half as early foul trouble kept him off the floor in the first half. He added four blocks.
Forward/center Amar'e Stoudemire made his Heat home debut. He was in double figures by the end of the first quarter, getting significant playing time as Whiteside picked up two fouls in his first four minutes of action.
The Heat now prepare to host the winless Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday while the Kings travel to Orlando to square off against the Magic.
NOTES: Kings C DeMarcus Cousins missed Thursday's game serving a one-game suspension for a forearm to the head of Hawks C Al Horford in Atlanta on Wednesday. Kings coach George Karl didn't appear too surprised. "Most of the coaches felt there was a chance." Sacramento entered the game with an 0-4 record without Cousins. ... In Cousins' absence, the Kings started C Kosta Koufos and inserted F Omri Casspi into the starting lineup for the first time this season. ... Heat C Chris Andersen was not with the team while dealing with a personal matter that coach Erik Spoelstra called an "excused absence." Spoelstra expects Andersen to return Saturday for a game against the 76ers. ... Both teams have formidable triple-double threats. Kings G Rajon Rondo registered four in six games entering Thursday and Heat C Hassan Whiteside had one of the points-rebounds-blocks variety on Tuesday against the Timberwolves.