The Miami HEAT fell to the Sacramento Kings 123-113 Monday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Josh Richardson led the way for the HEAT with a career-high 31 points.
1. Richardson Sharp From The Start
From start to finish, Richardson had it all going on against Sacramento.
How so?
Well, the 25-year-old scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the first half thanks to a bevy of pull-up jumpers and catch-and-shoot opportunities. Later on, Richardson primarily attacked the basket and got to the charity stripe quite often.
That said, he knocked down this important three as Miami was trying to mount a comeback in the fourth:
Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough.
In addition to his game and career-high 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting, Richardson also had three rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
2. Whiteside Dominates Early
After racking up six blocks against the Trail Blazers on Saturday, Hassan Whiteside was it again versus the Kings. In fact, the 7-footer wasted little time to get going and recorded 13 rebounds and four blocks…in the first quarter alone.
Crazy, right?
Here’s his last swat of the period on Frank Mason in help-side defense:
Talk about making it look easy.
As the game progressed, Whiteside continued to defend well and also mixed things up offensively with a couple put-backs, an alley-oop jam and a hook shot.
When it was all said and done, the 7-footer tallied 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, a game-high 24 rebounds, a game-high five blocks and two steals.
3. Dragić Does A Little Bit Of Everything
Although Goran Dragić nailed four treys on the night, he also came through with some tough finishes at the rim.
Need proof?
Here you go:
In all, the Slovenian recorded 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting, five assists and two steals.
Other Takeaways:
-Bam Adebayo played nearly 19 minutes, but his best sequence came early in the second quarter when he skied for a defensive rebound, took the ball down court, backed-down Marvin Bagley and dunked on him:
Adebayo finished with eight points and nine rebounds.
Game Note:
-James Johnson (Sports Hernia Surgery), Dion Waiters (Left Ankle Surgery), Duncan Robinson (Sioux Falls Assignment) and Yante Maten (Sioux Falls Assignment) were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT will play their next three on the road, starting Tuesday night against the Hornets at 7PM. After facing the Hawks and Pistons, Miami will host the Spurs on Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 7:30PM for Cancer Awareness Night. Tickets for that matchup can be found here.