THE Kings of Sacramento beat the Miami Heat 111-110, thanks to a winning goal from Domantas Sabonis to bring their record to 4-3. Sacramento finished its four-game Eastern Conference road trip with three wins and has won four of its last five overall.

ESPN released its latest NBA power rankingsplacing the Kings as the 15th best team in the league. The NBA’s expert panel ranked Sacramento 19th last week, with the slight rise in rankings reflecting the Kings’ success on the court.

“Clutch time was an Achilles heel for the Kings last season, but they were optimistic that the addition of DeMar DeRozan would alleviate those issues. They got a first look at the duo of DeRozan and De’Aaron Fox in the However, the decisive time hero for the Kings on Monday wasn’t DeRozan or Fox, but rather Domantas Sabonis, who scored a putback to win against the Heat, putting the team over of 0.500. –Kendra Andrews, ESPN

The Kings were led by the new star trio of De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan, averaging 70.2 points, 23.0 rebounds, 22.7 assists and 4.7 steals per game between the three of them.

Many experts and even fans questioned Sacramento’s acquisition of DeRozan this offseason, but the All-Star wing is already making a significant impact all over the court.

Before this season, it was difficult to take the Kings seriously as contenders, but DeRozan adds a whole new faucet to their system that takes them to the next level.

Although their record suggests they are a mid-tier team, they have lost three games by a total of seven points. The Kings have already shown that they can compete with any team in the league and should soon move into the top ten of ESPN’s power rankings.

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