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It seems like there are only two kinds of games that the Miami Heat are playing: marquee matchups and trap games. Tuesday night they'll get one of the latter as the 10-win Sacramento Kings come to South Florida for the teams' only meeting this season. Miami comes into this game playing their best ball of the season, having won six straight games and 14 of their last 16.
The Heat are being led by Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, both of whom are playing at an extremely high level. James was just named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, the fourth time this season he's won the award. He still sits second in the league in scoring, putting up 27.9 points per game, only trailing Kobe Bryant's 29.0.
Wade has been on fire, shooting over 50% from the field in ten straight games. He hasn't done that since his rookie season, when he did it in eleven straight. The Heat are following his lead, with the team shooting 49.2% during their six game winning streak. That's almost as impressive as the 39.3% shooting that their holding their opponents during that stretch.
Don't expect the Heat to look past this game and ahead to Thursday night's matchup with Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks, as they have been playing every game with the same amount of focus and intensity. Sacramento meanwhile has lost five straight games and won only 3 of 19 on the road. While Miami has held a lead of at least 20 points in six consecutive games, the Kings have only held a 20-point lead one time this entire season, and it lasted just 37 seconds.
GAME NOTES
- Miami is 13-2 at home. Sacramento is just 3-16 on the road.
- The Kings come in playing the 5th game on a six game road trip. So far they are 0-4 on the trip.
- The Heat have won 14 of their last 15 meeting against Sacramento.
- During Miami's 6 game win streak, they have had at least two 20-point scorers in each.
- The 3rd quarter has belonged to LeBron James lately. He has scored in double figures in four straight 3rd quarters, averaging 13.0 points during that span.
- A bright spot on the Kings is center DeMarcus Cousins. He ranks 4th in the league with 19 double doubles this season.
- Heat center Dexter Pittman (shoulder) is probable.
- As for Sacramento, they don't have any players listed on their injury report.
Tipoff from the AAA is set for 7:30. The game will be broadcast locally on Sun Sports and nationally on NBA TV, as fans voted the game as their choice for NBA Fan Night.