Kings feel Heat as playoff elimination nears. Will Fox, Sabonis play again this season?
A win over the Miami Heat would have put the Kings in an interesting position with a flicker of hope in the Western Conference play-in race, but instead a loss moved them closer to playoff elimination.
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo helped the Heat snap a season-long four-game losing streak with a 123-100 victory over the Kings on Monday night at FTX Arena in Miami. The Heat regained sole possession of the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference while the Kings tumbled toward a record 16-year playoff drought.
Rookie guard Davion Mitchell recorded his fourth consecutive 20-point game for the Kings (27-49), who now trail the Los Angeles Lakers by five games for the final play-in spot in the West. Mitchell finished with 21 points and nine assists. He has averaged 21.6 points and 7.2 assists in 41.0 minutes as a starter over the past five games with De’Aaron Fox out due to right hand soreness.
“We need him on the floor and we have him out there as much as we possibly can,” interim Kings coach Alvin Gentry said. “We try to use timeouts and some things to give him rest, but he loves being out there.”
Fox’s injury has been described as day-to-day and Domantas Sabonis will have a bone bruise in his left knee reevaluated later this week, but with only six games remaining, it’s unclear if they will suit up again this season. Gentry was asked Monday if he expects either to return.
“Well, we’ll see,” Gentry said. “They’re working out every day and they’re trying to get to the point where they can come back and play, so we won’t know that. It’s a day-by-day thing. I don’t know any other way to answer it but that. … Fox is on the trip with us. He’s spending a lot of time working out and trying to see where it takes him.”
Butler scored 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting with five rebounds and seven assists for the Heat (48-28). Adebayo had 22 points and 15 rebounds. Tyler Herro, a top candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, came off the bench to post 20 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made a change to his lineup after losing four in a row. Miami started Max Strus over Duncan Robinson, who went 8 of 29 (.276) from the field in the four previous games. Strus had a rough night, going 3 of 12 from the field, but Robinson came off the bench to score 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range.
Miami shot 54.4% from the field and amassed a 48-32 rebounding advantage. The Heat led 31-19 following the first quarter and 57-41 at the half. The Kings trailed by as many as 26 in the third quarter.
Out sick
The Kings announced before the game guard Josh Jackson and center Alex Len had been ruled out due to non-COVID illnesses.
Jackson has appeared in only six games since the Kings acquired him at the February trade deadline, but Len has logged increased minutes recently with Sabonis (knee) and Richaun Holmes (personal) both unavailable. Len has appeared in 37 games this season, averaging 6.3 points and 4.3 rebounds.
Queta time
Gentry recently said he was hoping to find minutes for rookie center Neemias Queta in the final weeks of the season. Queta got his chance Monday due to the absences of Sabonis, Holmes and Len.
Queta entered the game for the first time with 3:29 to play in the first period, making his first appearance since Jan. 31. The 7-footer from Portugal finished with three points and one rebound in 15 minutes.
This story was originally published March 28, 2022 at 10:37 PM.
