The Miami Heat ended their four-game losing Streak as they beat the Sacramento Kings 123-100 on Monday night to stop a four-game slide.
Jimmy Butler scored 27 points, Bam Adebayo added 22 points and 15 rebounds, as the Heat returned to the top of the Eastern Conference.
Tyler Herro had 20 for the Heat, who improved to 36-5 when scoring at least 110 points.
”Felt amazing to get back in the winning column,” Herro said.
The Heat are leading the East again, a game ahead of No. 2 Milwaukee and No. 3 Philadelphia. Boston started the day No. 1 in the East; the Celtics fell to fourth, percentage points behind the Bucks and 76ers after losing to Toronto.
”We got back to being who we are,” Jimmy Butler said.
Davion Mitchell scored 21 points for Sacramento, which got 17 from Harrison Barnes.
Miami’s 23-point victory margin was its largest since a 24-point win at Atlanta on Jan. 12. And Miami looked exactly the way Kings coach Alvin Gentry expected – especially after the Heat had dropped their last four.
”I don’t read a whole lot into that,” Gentry said. ”I think if you look at their team and the way they go out, they will be a huge factor when the playoffs start anyway. I think it’s a wakeup call.”
After spending most of March at home – the Heat have played 11 of their last 12 games in their own building – a three-game road swing starts Wednesday in Boston. It moves to Chicago on Saturday, then Toronto on Sunday for what will be a celebration of Kyle Lowry’s time with the Raptors and probably a game with significant seeding implications for both clubs.
”It’s always good to compete for something,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ”It’s not the end-all, be-all. It’s a really competitive race in the East. This is what you always want. You want the games to have meaning and context and significance to them. That’s basically every game right now in the Eastern Conference. That makes it very compelling.”
