Nor Cal Basketball

Miami's Shawn Marion applies heavy pressure on the Kings' John Salmons in the third quarter. Sacramento threatened several franchise records for futility before scoring 30 points in the fourth quarter.
LYNNE SLADKY Associated Press

But when a local seated near the floor at AmericanAirlines Arena came to his own conclusion regarding the Kings, he was simply speaking the minds of so many of those in attendance.

"We don't look that good," the man said of the hometown Heat. "But they look terrible."

He was right.

In a 103-77 loss that left fans, scouts, media and maybe even the security guards shaking their heads at the ineptitude on display, the Kings on Friday endured their first red-faced loss of a season that's only two games old.

Facing a Heat team that countered its lack of size with an active defense and incessant energy, the Kings crumbled under the pressure en route to a 26-turnover, 38.2 percent shooting performance (2 of 19 from three-point range).

The frenetic play of Olympic champion Dwyane Wade (20 points, eight assists, four of the Heat's 15 steals) and his athletic supporting cast led to an astounding 41 points off turnovers. It was a get-right game for Miami in its home opener, as it had lost by five at New York two days before after trailing by 23.

Down 78-47 after three quarters, the Kings were well on their way to threatening a number of franchise records for futility until a Quincy Douby-led unit scored 30 fourth-quarter points. The late flurry was the preferred topic of discussion for Kings coach Reggie Theus afterward, if only because the first three quarters had said plenty on their own.

Before the first minute of play passed, point guard Beno Udrih had two of his five turnovers and shooting guard Kevin Martin had the first of his five. By the end of one quarter, the Heat had turned 10 Kings turnovers into 12 points and led 22-14.

The Kings added five more in the second quarter, when Miami used a 20-6 run to push its lead to 19 points. Udrih had four turnovers midway through the second quarter, when Wade stole his pass and took off for a breakaway dunk, and the Kings point guard was brought to the bench after an exchange of frustrations with Theus during play.

The Heat poured it on in the third, when a 21-5 run pushed the lead to 34 in Miami's largest margin of victory (26) over the Kings (previously 21, set last season).

Martin, meanwhile, followed his 5-of-19 opener at Minnesota with another out-of-sync outing. He had just nine points on 2-of-8 shooting, growing frustrated early at the officiating while going to the line just five times in all. Long before halftime, the Heat's style had robbed the Kings of their poise. The way things were going, Miami might have taken their Halloween candy, too.

"It's something young veterans have to learn, also," Theus said of playing through tough stretches early. "Younger guys have to learn how to fight through a team that's playing physical. You have to learn how to play against the force, against their physicality. I guess I just thought their pressure just put us on our heels, and guys have to just fight through that kind of stuff."

While Martin's poor play comes on the heels of a spectacular exhibition season, Udrih – who had just two points on 1-of-7 shooting and two assists in 21 minutes – has appeared as rusty as expected. He sat the final two exhibition games with a strained left hip flexor and admitted to being out of rhythm.

"I don't have that feel for the game, (especially) coming out on pick and rolls and finding the open man," Udrih said. "I think we've got to do that better. I'm definitely going to work on it so I can make some plays."

The sort of plays the Heat made at will. Miami looked nothing like the team that won just 15 games last season, with rookie draft pick Michael Beasley contributing 17 points and nine rebounds.

"If we play like that against anybody with the energy we played with, and the havoc that we caused on the defensive end, it's going to be tough for anyone to come in here and get a victory," Wade said.

The Kings would agree.

Posted on Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:09:24 PDT at http://www.sacbee.com/kings/story/1362128.html
Author: samick@sacbee.com (Sam Amick)