Kings run away after halftime, top Heat 123-113

MIAMI — Sacramento’s o ensive approach was not exactly elaborate: Run, run, run and keep running.

Once the Kings got rolling, Miami had no answers.

Willie Cauley-Stein scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, Buddy Hield added 23 points and the high-octane Kings put their youthful athleticism on full display in getting past the Heat 123-113 on Monday night — putting up huge numbers even after sputtering through the first quarter.

“We ain’t had this energy in a while here, so this energy is just refreshing,” Cauley-Stein said. “It’s fun to play like this, playing fast, everyone getting the touches, everybody sharing the energy. It’s just fun to play.”

De’Aaron Fox scored 20 points and Nemanja Bjelica added 19 for the Kings, who outscored Miami 7755 in the middle two quarters and won on the Heat’s home floor for the second consecutive season.

The Kings outscored Miami 68-38 in the paint, and 27-9 o turnovers.

“You’ve got some teams that are special offensively,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. “That team ... they’re just go-go-go. That was like a conditioning test out there. They’re using their strengths as a team. That’s the league, man.”

Josh Richardson scored a career-high 31 points for Miami, which got an NBA season-high 24 rebounds from Hassan Whiteside, one shy of his career high. Whiteside also had 16 points and five blocked shots for the Heat.

“We like to play at pace, but it has to be on our terms,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And that was fully on their terms.”

It was tied at the half, and Sacramento ran away in the third.

Hield had 14 points in the third quarter, six of them starting what became a 14-4 Kings run that gave them an 82-65 lead. Cauley-Stein added 11 in that pivotal quarter, one where the Kings put up 43 points — their best one-period total in nearly three years.

“I was running the floor and my teammates were finding me in rhythm,” Hield said. “That was the big thing.”