By Ailene Voisin
avoisin@sacbee.com
First quarter: Heat 35, Kings 16
MIAMI - This was the Heat at its best - defending, rebounding, running the break, spreading the floor.
Dwyane Wade, who tweaked his right ankle Sunday in the All-Star Game in Los Angeles, showed no effects of the injury. He elevated for a follow dunk with 5:42 remaining in the period. And LeBron James, who had a triple-double Sunday, scored 14 quick points, including a driving layup at the buzzer.
The Kings shot a miserable 29.2 percent in the period, with DeMarcus Cousins struggling through an 0-for-6 start.
Led by James, who hit on seven of his 11 field goal attempts, the Heat converted 72 percent of their attempts. And blocked shots. And intimidated underneath. And moved the ball. This is going to be a long night.
Halftime: Heat 63, Kings 44
The Kings are getting spanked pretty good here, and it's interesting that Carl Landry failed to make an appearance.
He walked to the scorer's table after a timeout with about six minutes until intermission, but never took off his shirt. With the trade deadline approaching, this makes you wonder if the Kings are close to finalizing a deal.
Landry, who has value both as a player and an expiring contract, has been the subject of trade conjecture for the past several days.
Meantime, this was a gruesome half for his mates. The Kings were out-rebounded, were dominated inside, and as often happens when the open shots aren't falling, they were impatient and forced too many shots.
The starting backcourt of Beno Udrih and Jermaine Taylor combined for five points and one assist. Samuel Dalembert came off the bench and was by far the Kings' most effective player with eight points and nine rebounds. And I didn't keep count, but the Heat scored an inordinate number of step-back jumpers, most by Wade and James (21 points), and finished with 13 fastbreak points.
Third quarter: Heat 93, Kings 70
Dwayne Wade and LeBron James are still playing like they had the weekend off. Their stamina is incredible. They show no signs of easing up, either, despite the fact the Kings are totally outclassed.
DeMarcus Cousins is really struggling. He was stripped at the top of the circle, had a number of shots blocked, even botched an alley oop to Jermaine Taylor with just under six minutes remaining. Yet, again, the Kings are getting clocked and there's still no sign of Carl Landry. Think trade.
Final: Heat 117, Kings 97
This was an eventful evening, if nothing else. A few hours after learning that Tyreke Evans would be sidelined for at least three weeks with plantar fasciitis, the Kings became the first post-All-Star victim of LeBron James, Dwyane, Chris Bosh and the rest of the Miami Heat. James and Wade ran through, around, and over the Kings. They were merciless.
Their coach, Erik Spoelstra, has been carping about the defense. Well, there was nothing wrong with the Heat defense tonight. They held the Kings to 35 percent shooting in the opening half and were equally dominant in the second half.
They reached the 100-point mark on a jumper by Wade with just over nine minutes remaining. (One scout seated at the press table estimated the Heat ran 50 different plays).
And, yes, the Kings acknowledged that they kept Carl Landry out of the game because a trade is pending.
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