The Miami Heat’s forward Jimmy Butler (22) leans in to take a shot against the Sacramento Kings forward De’Aaron Fox (5) at the Kayesa Arena in Biscayne Bay FL on Wed Jan 31, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings (27-18) got another slow start Wednesday night losing to the Miami Heat (25-23) 115-106. They were off all night. Buckets were not dropping despite good looks in virtually every quarter. The bright spots in this game were the performances of Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray. Sabonis had his 13th triple double and Keegan Murray had the game high with 33 points.

Game recap: Sacramento did get a better start in the opening quarter of this game but still trailed after the first 12 minutes 28-22. The Kings trailed by as much as 18 points in the second quarter but cut it to single digits in the later minutes of the half 53-45. 

Sacramento had a nice run in the second quarter trailing 59-55 at the half. They did win the quarter 33-31. Domantas Sabonis had a great second quarter scoring nine points and Keegan Murray was leading the pack with 21 points for the half. 

The Kings had put the stops on the turnovers with six in the first two quarters. Harrison Barnes had a quiet half, on court for 17 minutes and coming away empty. De’Aaron Fox also had a slow start with 5 points in the first half. 

Both teams were shooting about 47% from the field but the Kings fell short from downtown. Sacramento was 30% from long going 6 of 20 and the Heat shot for almost 60% scoring 7 of 12. 

The Kings were doing a good job keeping Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Terry Rozier pretty well contained. Sacramento needed another strong second half. if they had any thoughts of winning this game. Murray was responsible for keeping Sacramento in this game at all.

The Kings really began to push the pace of the game in the second quarter erasing a significant deficit and needed to keep pushing in the second half. Sacramento’s offensive effort went a bit stale in the third quarter and they desperately needed some stops. 

With 1:35 left in the quarter the Heat had pushed their lead out to 90-80. The Heat’s Jimmy Butler had 12 points in the third quarter alone and he was presenting all sorts of problems for the Kings.

With the clock winding down, the Kings needed not only stops but buckets as well. With four minutes left in the game the Kings were looking at a ten-point deficit 103-93. The Kings would look back at key defensive mistakes in this game and triples were also hard to find with the exception of Keegan Murray who was 7 of 11. 

Sacramento has struggled defensively in the month of January and tonight the Kings did not have their best stuff by a long-shot, they were just off. The Kings dropped this one 115-106 despite some brilliant play from Sabonis and Murray. This Heat win ended a seven game losing streak for Miami.

The bright spot in this game was Murray who finished with 33 points. Sabonis had his 13th triple double and finished with 17 rebounds, 13 assists and 19 points. The team was just a step off and their rhythm was shaky. The nine turnovers were a definite improvement but they needed a whole lot more from Fox, Barnes and Monk.

Butler had the team high for the Heat with 31 points and off the bench Josh Richardson had a great game shooting for 24 points.

Post game notes: Monday night the Kings barely got past the Grizzlies before locking down the win. Tuesday night the Kings couldn’t get past the Miami Heat in an even tougher matchup. The Kings got a horrible start in their last game trailing after the first quarter 33-18. They needed a better start in Wednesday night’s game although the Kings hung with the Heat in the end the Heat finished the job.

Friday night the Kings take on the Indiana Pacers. Sacramento has to be better prepared as they continue this seven game road trip. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 PM.