The Miami Heat are missing almost half of their roster, but with Dwyane Wade getting plenty of help from Michael Beasley and Tyler Johnson, it seems no lead is too big for this team as they make an impressive comeback to claim a 114-109 win over the Sacramento Kings in overtime.

For the first time this season, the Heat manage to win three home games in a row. Amazing considering they’re going to be a playoff team and are getting closer and closer to making it a fact, but this is the Eastern conference we’re talking about. It almost didn’t happen, but the Heat figured that coming back from 16 points in the third quarter is nothing; on Friday they came back from 35 points against the Wizards, although they ended up losing 99-97.

This time? Dwyane Wade scored 28 points and got a huge help from Tyler Johnson, scoring 26 points off the bench including a huge 3-pointer in overtime to give the Heat a four point lead they didn’t surrender. It helped that DeMarcus Cousins, beaten up all game long by Michael Beasley, fouled out in overtime. It also helped that the Kings missed two close range shots in the final three seconds of regulation to complete their terrible second half, scoring just 35 points.

Goran Dragic didn’t play, but the Heat found ways to overcome his absence due to back problems. Johnson scored 24 points and played 44 minutes. Henry Walker started and scored 11 points. Mario Chalmers was uncharacteristically efficient with 12 points, 7 assists and 4 steals off the bench, while Michael Beasley, getting his second chance with the Heat, showed just how valuable he can be as a scorer off the bench with 18 points in 38 minutes, also grabbing 7 rebounds in the process.

The Kings had a 74-58 lead in the third quarter they let slip away, with Johnson, Chalmers and Beasley doing most of the damage in the comeback attempt. The Heat lost Udonis Haslem during the game to make things even more difficult for them, although it doesn’t seem to be a serious injury for a player who gave up on a lot of money although he didn’t have to in order to make things easier for the Heat in a season that is still about competing, but also a semi-rebuild in motion kind of campaign.

If the Heat convince Dragic to stay in free agency, then it was worth it. They’re getting some surprising numbers from surprising players like Johnson and Walker, and maybe Spoelstra will see what he likes in Beasley, still a very good and useful scorer to have, even if it means “suffering” inferior defense from time to time. The Heat made it through the LeBron James exit storm despite all the difficulties. Making the playoffs is important, but using this season as something to build off of is just as crucial.

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