Heat Outhustle Kings

     Jimmy Butler set a franchise record with his third consecutive triple-double as the Miami Heat rebounded with a 118-110 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night at Golden 1 Center. Miami snapped a three-game losing streak while the Kings have fallen in their last five contests. The Heat will visit the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday in a rematch of the 2020 NBA Finals. 

     Miami(12-17) broke out to a 31-20 lead at the end of the first quarter and were up by double figures 57-43 at halftime. Sacramento(12-16) trailed 89-79 after three quarters of play. The Heat, who led throughout the entire contest, had a 11-2 spurt at the beginning of the fourth quarter.    

     Butler got his fourth triple-double in the last five games with 13 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. Bam Adebayo also put together a  triple-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. The only time Miami had two players have triple-doubles in one game was in December 2019 by Butler and Adebayo. Tyler Herro launched 27 points, Kelly Olynyk had 22 points and Duncan Robinson dropped in 20 points. 

    Nemanja Bjelica led the Kings with 25 points with eight rebounds. Marcus Bagley III compiled a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. De'Aaron Fox had 11 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.