After losing a tough game last night in Orlando, the Sacramento Kings (21-40) watched a nightmarish sequel play out against a short-handed Heat (28-34) team tonight in Miami. After leading for much of the game, Sacramento faded late and then fell in the overtime session by a final of 114-109.
Rudy Gay scored 18 of his 27 points in the first half, but missed the game-winner at the end of regulation. Ben McLemore bounced back from a poor showing against the Magic, scoring 20 points on 7-for-16 shooting. DeMarcus Cousins notched his 37 double-double of the season, finishing with 27 points and 17 rebounds, but fouled out on a controversial call in the overtime session.
Coach Erik Spoelstra had just nine healthy bodies in uniform, missing Chris Bosh, Goran Dragic, Luol Deng, Josh McRoberts and Hassan Whiteside due to injuries.
Join James Ham and Rui Thomas for the Road Reaction Postgame Show on Google+ after the game. The show can be watched on the video player embedded below. You can also join the discussion of tonight’s game by leaving a comment at the bottom of the page.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVysETYfbT0]What to watch
1. Center stage
Ex-teammates DeMarcus Cousins and Hassan Whiteside square off in what is promised to be an emotional and physical battle. Yet when these two matched up on January 16, the big ticket didn’t live up to the hype. Cousins notched 17 points and 11 boards but lost eight turnovers, while Whiteside scored only four points and one rebound in 15 minutes due to foul trouble.
2. Anemic offense
The Heat and their 27th-ranked scoring offense will be without Chris Bosh, who scored 30 points in the January win over the Kings. This time, however, Miami will suit up Dwayne Wade and Goran Dragic, so sophomores Ray McCallum and Ben McLemore should have their hands full defending the savvy backcourt.
3. Back-t0-back blues
Both Sacramento and Miami will be playing the second game of a back-to-back when they face each other. The Kings are 5-8 this season on the second leg of back-to-backs, and they were wiped out by the Spurs in their most recent opportunity on Wednesday, so energy levels are worth monitoring.
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