At the start of the jump, Sacramento came out swinging. After 6 straight wins by double digits, it only made sense that the Miami would quickly dispose of the 10-22 Sacramento Kings. Little did we know, Sacramento wouldn’t go down without a fight. For once, it looked as though a team wasn’t afraid of the Miami Heat. Particularly, rookie sensation Isaiah Thomas who finshed with 5 shots from the perimeter and at one point it seemed like any shot he threw up would hit nothing but nylon. In the first quarter, Sacramento looked younger, quicker, and bigger jumping out to a 32-26 lead after the first period. Head coach Erik Spoelstra commented on the young core that the Kings are comprised of, “They played very well and they have some weapons, some young weapons on that team that you saw.”
Throughout the game there were 11 lead changes, 6 ties, and for once the Heat were playing with their backs against the wall. That was, until the 4th quarter came around. Recently, LeBron James had sarcastically complained about not getting enough playing time in the 4th quarter because of how badly the Heat were beating their opponents in the first 3 quarters. James, who finished the game with 18 points and 8 assists, finally got what he wished for. By the end of the 3rd, Miami was clinging on to a 5-point lead and had 4 reserves in, to start the 4th period.
In what was supposed to be a wire-to-wire finish quickly turned into another blowout in favor of the Heat. Miami’s reserves were doing so much damage that Erik Spoelstra subbed in Wade at the 6-minute mark, along with James at the 4-minute mark. Captain of the Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade finished the night with a double-double, 30 points and 10 assists, on another scorching shooting night going 11-16 from the field.
Moreover, Miami finished with 3 players having 20-plus points including Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Mario Chalmers. Bosh ended the night with a double-double on yet another solid contribution, racking up 20 points and 10 rebounds. Chalmers was red-hot from downtown connecting on 6 of his 12 3-point attempts, which matched a career best for Super Mario. Meanwhile, Udonis Haslem pulled down 7 rebounds and moved to number two on the Heat’s all time rebounding list. The turning point was when Haslem completed a put-back dunk that sent the entire Heat bench into a frenzy. Dwyane Wade was jumping up and down, LeBron James was showing us his latest dance moves, and it is clearly evident that the Miami Heat are finally developing into a team that is excelling in chemistry and togetherness.
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