MIAMI _ Not in this house.
And never in overtime.
Basically, the Sacramento Kings found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time Monday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
So make it 19-1 at home and 7-0 in overtime for the Miami Heat after a game salvaged at the end of regulation turned into 118-113 victory.
With a Bam Adebayo dunk off a perfect Goran Dragic inbounds lob with 1.9 seconds left in regulation allowing the Heat to force the extra period, the Heat then closed it out from there.
Guard Kendrick Nunn led the Heat with 25 points, with forward James Johnson adding 22, Dragic 18 and Adebayo a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double.
Playing in the absence of Jimmy Butler, who was held out with a sore right hip, the Heat were pushed to the limit, just as they were in recent losses to the Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks and, Sunday, San Antonio Spurs.
This time, they flipped the script, as they seemingly always do at home, and always have done in overtime this season.
Overtime proved to be as much of a scramble as the close of regulation, with a Kendrick Nunn 3-pointer with 1:55 left putting the Heat ahead 114-113.
The Heat got a pair of stops from there, with Nunn then sent to the line with 9.3 seconds left, converting both free throws for a 116-113 lead.
A King turnover followed, as did a scramble, with Nunn closing the scoring with a pair of free throws.
Down eight with 7:30 to play in regulation the Heat got a pair of 3-pointers by James Johnson to move within 103-100 with 1:12 to play in the fourth. Then, unlike Sunday in San Antonio, Duncan Robinson this time converted a tying 3-pointer with 29 seconds left in the fourth for a 103-103 tie.
But that's when after a scramble, the Kings came up with a layup from forward Nemanja Bjelica with 1.9 seconds to play in regulation for a two-point Sacramento lead.
And then, near inbound perfection, with the Heat closing out the scoring at 105-105 in regulation with eight-tenths of a second on a perfectly executed lob from an inbounding Goran Dragic to Bam Adebayo at the rim.
Five degrees of Heat from Monday's game:
1. To the point: While Nunn has served as the de facto point guard since the start of the season, it often was with Butler and Bam Adebayo handling the majority of ballhandling.
With Butler out, it cast Nunn in more of a playmaking role, with 10 early Heat turnovers resulting.
Nunn found his rhythm once Dragic entered, able to then display more of his scoring and all-around game.
The game was another example of how, even at 33, Dragic remains a vital element to so much of this season's success.
And of how much Nunn has come to mean to this offense.
2. Zoned out: The Heat zone defense no longer is gimmick, but arguably now the team's base defense off made shots and dead balls.
With Butler out, the Heat were at a decided deficit when it came to individual defenders, especially as they went deeper into the rotation, with Derrick Jones Jr. starting.
The Kings clearly arrived ready for the approach, moving the ball deftly for a series of open 3-point attempts, including 25 in the first half, a Kings record for attempts in any half.
Buddy Hield's two 3-pointers early in overtime also came against the Heat zone.
3. Down goes Jones: Making his second start of the season, both in place of Butler, Jones was down for an extended period late in the third quarter after an inadvertent blow to the face from Kings guard Cory Joseph during a rebound scramble.
The Kings failed to score during their 5-on-4 possession, with the officials then blowing play dead once the Heat regained possession, with Jones face down beyond the offensive baseline.
Jones then immediately was taken to the locker room, poked in both eyes.
4. In other words, never: With Butler and Justise Winslow out, and with Robinson forced to retreat to the locker room in the second quarter before returning to the start of the second half, and Jones sidelined late in the third, there still was no movement from the Heat bench for Dion Waiters.
Waiters did not come out with teammates for pregame shooting or at halftime. He joined teammates pregame in time for introductions and emerged from the locker room just prior to the whistle to open play in the third quarter.
5. Stepping up: To his credit, after spending time in the same doghouse as Waiters, Johnson again attempted to make the most of his time in the absence of Winslow, one of only three Heat players (along with Nunn and Dragic) in double figures through three quarters.
