By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The banged-up Miami Heat showed no signs of slowing down and still had enough firepower to break the crowns of the Sacramento Kings, 121-110, in the ongoing NBA regular season on February 27, 2024.
Despite losing Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic, and Thomas Bryant due to slapped suspension penalties when they figured in a brawl against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Heat stuck to their game plan to clinch their fourth-straight win.
It was a tough assignment to pull off, especially against a healthy Sacramento team that is coming off a momentum-boosting three-game winning streak.
The Heat survived a 20-4 scoring onslaught by the Kings in the second quarter, recovering in the last five minutes to regain the lead at the half, 65-62.
Miami then banked on a fiery third-quarter performance when they dropped a game-high 36-point quarter spearheaded by Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Bam Adebayo.
Jaquez, who got loads of minutes due to Miami’s short rotation, made the most out of his stint after dropping an efficient 26-point outing derived from a 12/17 shooting from the field.
Aside from his offensive prowess, the steady swingman also did the intangibles and tallied five rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
Just when the Heat thought they could run away with a convincing road game victory, the Kings staged a final fight back when they unleashed a crucial 14-1 scoring run in the fourth quarter.
After the offensive snowball, Sacramento only trailed by six points from a double-digit deficit but Adebayo quieted the crowd after hitting a clutch turnaround jumper from the top of the key.
Adebayo top-scored the Heat with 28 big points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block while Caleb Martin added 16 points, six boards, and a dime.
