The Kings didn't lay down and take it though.  As Rudy Gay said after the game, they responded.

Thanks to Acy and the bench, the Kings cut Miami's 17 point lead to a much more manageable 7 points midway through the second quarter.  The starters for both teams came in at that point, and while Miami was able to stretch the lead back to double digits at 10, it felt as if the team had had new life breathed into them.

Miami had no real answer for DeMarcus Cousins, but it was Rudy Gay heating up that really brought the Kings back into the game.  Gay had missed his first five shots of the night but caught fire in the second half.  With the Kings down by 11 points early in the third quarter, Gay went to work, scoring 11 points in the quarter, most of them with LeBron James on him.  Gay's shot with 2:21 left in the quarter gave Sacramento a 71-69 lead, their first lead since the first minute of the game.  The Kings ended up outscoring Miami 29 to 18 in the quarter and taking a 74-73 lead into what was supposed to be the final period.

The beginning of the 4th quarter was awful.  Sacramento and Miami's benches, which had played like polar opposites in the first half, switched roles here as Miami tightened the screws on their defense and Sacramento couldn't handle the pressure.  Jimmer Fredette especially seemed unable to get anyone the ball, and the first four possessions of the quarter for Sacramento all resulted in turnovers.  The Kings had a valuable opportunity to extend the lead on Miami with LeBron and Bosh resting on the bench and they squandered it.  Fortunately, the Miami bench wasn't able to push their own lead far enough, getting it back to just six points by the time both teams put their starters back in.

This is about the time that Miami started really helping the Kings out.  Sacramento made a lot of mistakes in the quarter (8 turnovers in the quarter) and Miami failed to take advantage.  With 2:42 left in the game, LeBron James found himself with Cousins on him on the perimeter, and his take to the basket resulted in Cousins picking up his fifth foul and James heading to the line.  At this point, James had yet to score a single basket in the fourth quarter.  James made just one of his free throws to push Miami's lead to 89-85.

On the other end of the court, Cousins got the ball down low and missed a short hook, but got his own rebound in the midst of several Heat.  In the process, he was thrown to the floor by LeBron James on a hard foul.  Cousins had already picked up a technical foul in the first quarter, and you could see in the way all his teammates and coaches ran towards him that they wanted to prevent his ejection.  Cousins didn't lose his cool though, getting up and walking calmly to the bench.

Sacramento's possession after the foul left a lot to be desired.  Isaiah took a bad long shot that was blocked by Chris Bosh, but Cousins got hit with another hard foul, this time by Mario Chalmers.  Also surprisingly, the refs called this a flagrant, even after reviewing, meaning the Kings got two shots and the ball.  To my eyes, it didn't seem particularly flagrant (it was most definitely a foul though), and I think Cousins did a good job selling it.  Cousins made both of his free throws and now the Kings had a chance to tie the game with just over a minute left.  Isaiah found Gay, who pulled up from about 15 feet for a jumper that was nothing but net.

LeBron, of course, wasn't quite done yet.  He drilled three consecutive threes in the final minute to keep the Heat somewhat in it.  The Kings responded with a basket or free throws after each make however so it didn't make a difference in the end.  Sacramento came away victorious.

Sacramento's defense was a dramatic improvement over anything we've seen to date.  The Heat are the best offensive team in basketball, and even without Wade, Allen and Anderson, they're extremely potent.  After giving up 32 points in the first quarter, the Kings held Miami to 23, 18, 16 and 14.  It's even more impressive when you realize that 9 of the overtime points came on contested threes by James in the final minute with the game all but decided.  Sacramento dominated the glass 51 to 35, with Cousins leading the way with 17, including 6 on the offensive end.  Every single King had at least one rebound, and 8 of them had at least three.  Sacramento also held Miami to 44.2% from the field and 34.4% from three.  LeBron James, after scoring 19 points and looking unstoppable in the first half, scored just 3 points in the second half (not including overtime where he had 11).  Yes, James did say he sprained his right groin, but I think the Kings did a good job of encouraging him to shoot jumpers rather than letting him drive into the paint.

This was a great win for the Kings, but it can't be a one-off effort.  It should be noted that this team has had just two practices since the trade that brought in Rudy Gay, and chemistry takes a while to build.  Last night was a step in the right direction, but it takes a lot of work and focus to continue on the right path.

Hopefully, this game was a sign of things to come, rather than an aberration.

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