Heat 112, Kings 106
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gerald Green scored a season-high 30 points and the Miami Heat hardly missed Dwyane Wade for three quarters on Friday night in a 112-106 victory over the Sacramento Kings at Sleep Train Arena.
Wade sat out after injuring his neck while taking a hard fall in Miami's loss at the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
The Heat responded by making 51 percent of their shots from the field, including 17 of 22 in the first quarter, en route to moving into a virtual tie atop the Southeast Division.
Green made 11 of 18 shots to lead Miami, including 8 of 10 during a 15-point first quarter.
The Heat saw most of that work go to waste in the fourth quarter. Sacramento cut an 87-63 third-quarter deficit to 105-104 with under 90 seconds left, but Joe Johnson's short jumper and a 3-pointer by Luol Deng on Miami's next possession helped the Heat hold on.
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.
The Heat (44-31) and Hornets (44-31) are percentage points ahead of the Hawks (45-32) in the Southeast Division. The three teams take up the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 spots in the Eastern Conference standings.
Goran Dragic had 18 points and seven assists, and Deng finished with 17 points for Miami. Johnson had 14 points and eight assists.
Darren Collison scored 11 of his season-best 26 points in the fourth quarter and led a desperate Kings rally in the second half. Sacramento blitzed Miami with a 41-18 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters.
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.
Seth Curry matched a career best with 21 points for the Kings, and Gay produced 20 points and 11 rebounds. Sacramento saw a three-game home winning streak end.
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.