Heat, after rout from 22 down, drop to 2-5 with Kings 119-113 loss – Reading Eagle

It looked like the Sacramento Kings had purchased an E-ZPass for the first half of Saturday’s game against the Miami Heat at Golden1 Center.

In those 24 minutes, not only did the previously undefeated Kings score 71 points, but 36 of them came from the field.

Ultimately, it took too much of a toll on the Heat, who fell to 2-5 with a 119-113 loss at the Golden1 Center at the end of their three-game Western streak.

“They came in desperate,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Obviously they wanted their first win.”

For warmth? It was a desperation that was too late and, in the end, too little.

“The pain of the loss will make us change,” Spoelstra said.

While there was much more resistance in the second half, including cutting a 22-point halftime deficit to one in the fourth quarter, it wasn’t enough in the end.

“We’ll deal with it,” guard Jimmy Butler said, “like everything else.”

The Kings’ early power play got to the point where Heat captain Udonis Haslem, 42, was called for minutes in the first and third quarters, and Heat big men Dewayne Dedman (illness) and Omer Yurtseven (ankle) were sidelined. and Bam in center Adebayo in early foul trouble.

“We need to find our identity again,” Adebayo said.

Tyler Herro led the Heat with a season-high 34 points, with Adebayo adding 23, Kyle Lowry 15 and Butler 13.

Offseason acquisition Kevin Huerter led the Kings with 27 points, while first-round pick Keegan Murray added 22.

While there’s now a two-day break to go into Eastern time, after those back-to-back losses to the Golden State Warriors and Kings, we’re in for a couple more solid tests, with the Heat hosting the Warriors on Tuesday night , and then face the Kings on Wednesday night at FTX Arena.

Five degrees of heat from Saturday’s game:

1. Closing time: The Heat trailed 71-49 at halftime, but then pulled within seven points late in the third period on a Lowry 3-pointer before going into the fourth period up 90-82.

The Heat then survived a four-point Kings possession when Max Struss was called for a flagrant foul on Harrison Barnes and eventually pulled within 101-100 on Butler’s 3-pointer with 6:15 to play.

Murray’s 3-pointer pushed the Kings ahead by four points. But on the next series, Kings center Damantas Sabonis fouled out with 5:52 to play, capping his 18 points.

However, the Kings pushed their lead back to eight with 4:12 left and held on.

The Heat’s best chance from that point on came on what turned out to be a wayward three-point attempt by the Ostriches with 26 seconds left.

“You have to use so much energy to get back into the game,” Lowry said.

2. Hero from the depths: In a game where the Heat failed to make their quota of 3-point attempts, they were left behind early when Herro went off the dribble or layup.

Era made 3-of-3 3-pointers in the first half, and the rest of the team was 3-of-8 from beyond the arc at this stage, not much to fuel a team that plays small ball at will.

One difference between Herr and the Heat’s other 3-point shooter is that he can create his own 3-point space, as opposed to moving and rushing screens from Strus and Duncan Robinson.

Erro’s offense allowed the Heat to stay within striking distance until his teammates found themselves and the guard executed a clear dunk in the fourth quarter.

Heath made 11 of 28 three-pointers.

“Teams are definitely driving us away and making it difficult,” Era said of the Heat’s decline in 3-pointers this season. “I think you have to make a conscious effort to get those threes up.”

3. Locating Lowry: It’s been a good start to the season for Lowry, and it started as another poor game with two points, one assist and no baskets in the first half.

Lowry didn’t score until he made two free throws with 16.7 seconds left in the first half and didn’t make his first basket until he stole a pass from the Kings for the go-ahead pass with 8:31 left in the third quarter.

But Lowry then stepped up in the second half when it was needed, leading to 13 points in the fourth quarter.

“There’s always a concern when you’re not winning basketball,” Lowry said of the team’s standings.

4. Irony of fate: The Kings called what would have been the second foul on Sabonis with 6:24 left in the first period. Not only did they win that call, but it was instead a foul on Adebayo, forcing him to the bench after starting a 3-on-3 field goal.

Adebayo was replaced by . . . Haslem, his first minutes this season outside of garbage time late in Wednesday night’s win in Portland.

Spoelstra said he urged Haslem to “give a little more experience to the defender.”

Haslem said he was told to wait minutes before the game.

“Obviously, you can’t help but get fired up,” Haslem said of such sporadic play. “My base jumper was pretty damn flat.”

5. Bench of trouble: The ongoing problem with the Heat’s second unit is that Era is no longer active and Victor Oladipo has yet to dress this season due to ongoing pain.

That left the Heat with nominal contributions on the bench, with Robinson on the bench in the second half and Nikola Jovic seeing just 50 seconds of action.

While Strus closed with 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting. The rest of the Heat’s reserves combined for eight points on 2-for-8 shooting.

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