MIAMI – Dwyane Wade scored 22 points and the Miami Heat made Alonzo Mourning’s formal homecoming a good one, getting double-digit scoring from all five starters to beat the slumping Sacramento Kings 104-83 on Friday night.
Shaquille O’Neal had 18 points, giving him 23,177 for his career and tying him with Adrian Dantley for 17th in NBA history. Eddie Jones had 17 points – including a perfect 5-for-5 night from 3-point range – for Miami, which won its fourth straight overall and ninth in a row at home.
Mourning, who wore a home Heat uniform for the first time since the end of the 2001-02 season after rejoining the club this week, played the final 3:37 and finished with four points and four rebounds.
Mike Bibby had 22 points and seven assists for Sacramento, which lost for the 10th time in its last 14 games. Cuttino Mobley had 17 points and Peja Stojakovic added 15 for the Kings.
Another big second-half effort keyed the win. Miami, which outscored New Jersey 62-42 in a 16-point win Thursday night, shot 56.4 percent in the second half and outscored the Kings 56-42 after halftime.
The win, coupled with Washington’s 103-90 loss to Golden State, extended Miami’s Southeast Division lead to a season-best 101/2 games, and assured the Heat of keeping at least a 51/2-game lead in the Eastern Conference over Detroit, which played later at Seattle. Miami (44-16) has 22 regular-season games remaining.
With starting center Brad Miller sidelined for the third straight game because of a sore calf, the Kings relied heavily on jump shots – 10 of Sacramento’s first 11 field goals came from the perimeter.
But the Kings only connected on 40.5 percent of their first-half shots, and that, combined with Miami’s 24-8 inside-scoring edge in the opening two quarters, led to a 48-41 Heat lead at intermission.
Sacramento hit its first three shots of the third quarter and closed with 48-47, but never regained the lead. Miami connected on 63.2 percent of its shots in the period, built a 78-66 lead entering the fourth and held on – improving to 36-2 when leading after three quarters.
The Kings, who ended a six-game trip and were away from home for the ninth time in 10 games, never got closer than 12 in the final quarter.
The Heat got a brief scare with 54.4 seconds left in the first half, when Kings center Brian Skinner pulled O’Neal down under the basket. O’Neal – who sprained his left knee 10 days earlier after another awkward tumble – fell over cameramen and fans, but was uninjured and made one of the two resulting free throws.
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