What the Kings learned from their fifth straight win in double OT vs. Heat originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area.
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SACRAMENTO – The Miami Heat made their once-a-year trip to Sacramento on Monday night and made the trip worthwhile as the Kings narrowly escaped with a 123-118 double overtime win at a deafening Golden 1 Center. .
Tyler Herro and the Heat did their best to snuff out the Kings’ victory ray with a close game on the second night of a back-to-back against Sacramento, but instead the purple Lasers snapped the team’s winning streak to five games in a row. The streak broke a season high.
The Kings fell behind by as many as 17 points after a second-half collapse, but came back to life late in the fourth quarter, sparking a comeback and forcing overtime.
But no one was ready to go home yet, and double overtime followed.
Both teams played without their stars, with De’Aaron Fox injured and disgruntled veteran Jimmy Butler serving the second game of his suspension.
Tyler Herro wasted no time getting to work and headed to Miami. He scored 12 points in the first quarter, giving him a team-high 26 points.
For the Kings, every starter finished in double figures for the second straight game, with DeMar DeRozan leading all scorers with 30 points on 12-of-26 shooting.
The page appears to be turning in Sacramento, with Doug Christie’s record improving to 5-1 as interim coach following the firing of Mike Brown.
Here are some takeaways from the Kings’ victory:
Extra, Extra Basketball
With the Kings down by one point with 0.2 seconds left, Heat center Bam Adebayo fouled Keon Ellis, sending him to the free throw line and giving Sacramento two free throws.
Instead, Ellis missed the first and made the second, forcing double overtime.
And who else besides DeRozan, one of the most influential players in the league, can help and win a championship for the Kings? He scored nine points in five minutes of overtime to finish with a total of 30 points.
king vs hero
Playing without their star teammates, Malik Monk and Tyler Herro filled needed gaps for their respective teams.
Monk, playing again without Fox, who missed the last two games with a hip injury, came up big for the Kings in Sunday’s blowout win over the Golden State Warriors.
He added three rebounds, 12 assists and four steals to tie Stephen Curry for 26 points and posted a plus/minus rating of plus-41 in 29 minutes.
On Monday night, Monk provided some much-needed energy for Sacramento, scoring 23 points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals in nearly 49 minutes.
Meanwhile, Herro, playing his second game without a Butler suspension, has been a constant source of support for Heat fans through a drama-filled season. He is averaging a team-high 23.8 points and 5.1 rebounds this season.
In Monday night’s win over the Kings, Herro had 26 points, including 11 of 25 points. But the Kings held him scoreless in both overtime frames.
3 point shot
The Kings haven’t proven to be a good 3-point shooting team this season.
It was difficult to watch them get to where they are now and see the damage they did from beyond the arc just two seasons ago.
But numbers don’t lie. And they haven’t lied over the last two games. Sacramento shot the ball incredibly well from deep. Against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, the Kings shot 21 of 47 (44.7%) from 3-point range and 19 of 43 (44.2%) from downtown when the Warriors dished on Sunday.
But against Miami on Monday, Sacramento returned to its mediocrity from beyond the arc.
The Kings shot 13 of 38 (34.2%) from downtown on Monday, which is closer to their average this season.
Eventually they found a way to do the work elsewhere around the floor. But they will be hoping to get back to their 3-point shooting ways.
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