The Heat will look to get back on track against the lowly Sacramento Kings on Saturday night in Miami.
Since Miami’s six game-winning streak, the team has dropped three of its last four, including a 106-105 setback against the Orlando Magic on Friday.
The Heat, who are 3-0 in the second half of back-to-backs this season, saw their star forward Bam Adebayo climb the franchise’s scoring list with his 24-point effort in Orlando.
Adebayo has 9,259 career points to pass Glen Rice for third all-time in Miami history.
“Wow, that’s incredible. That’s really incredible,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said of Adebayo’s feat. “What an achievement. That’s just a testament to his consistency and his work ethic. He came in (to the league) basically as a defensive player and he’s really honed in on his skills offensively to become so much more versatile. On a tough night and a tough loss, that’s one heck of an accomplishment and he’s going to keep going.”
Miami’s leading scorer Norman Powell (25.2 points per game) scored 28 points on Friday, while Tyler Herro (23.8 ppg) missed his first game since making his season debut on Nov. 24 after dealing with an ankle injury. It’s now a toe injury for the 25-year-old Herro, who could make his return on Saturday.
Sacramento has lost four straight games and is off to its worst start (5-17) since beginning 5-23 in the 2010-11 campaign.
The Kings, whose 111 points per game rank third fewest in the league, scored a season-low 95 points in their 26-point loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Zach LaVine, who leads Sacramento with 19.8 points per game, had just two points in Houston in 19 minutes.
With Domantas Sabonis (17.2 points, 12.3 rebounds per game) out with a torn meniscus in his left knee, head coach Doug Christie is desperate for LaVine to find a rhythm. Christie, however, won’t hesitate to sit LaVine if he’s not performing.
“Some nights you’re going to be better than other nights and that’s the nature of the game,” Christie said. “It’s nothing personal against anybody, it’s just basketball. You’re not going to get taken out for every mistake, but when there’s multiples or it’s an energy thing, we need to get people out there who are going to do those things at a high level. We’re searching for a standard for the Sacramento Kings that is way above where we’re presently at.”
A rare bright spot for the skidding Kings is rookie Maxime Raynaud, who poured in a career-high 25 points on Wednesday. The second-round draft pick from Stanford could see a bump into the starting lineup for Christie’s offense-starved group.
“Absolutely. It’s a definite thought,” Christie said of giving Raynaud his first career start. “Everything is on the table. … I want to make sure he is really dialed in and taking care of the basketball. He has good size and he communicates well. Just watching him out there, you can see with time and repetition, he is going to be a good pro.”
