Observations and other notes of interest from Tuesday night’s 130-117 victory over the Sacramento Kings:

– There’s something about Pelle Larsson.

– There just is.

– It’s not just sticking his nose in there.

– It’s adding a degree of toughness and pushback in a Heat season that could use some toughness and pushback.

– Recall all those times DeMar DeRozan had punked the Heat over the years, no matter the uniform?

– Then consider Larsson twice stepping up against DeRozan in this one.

– With it getting to the point where DeRozan, driven to distraction, committed his first flagrant foul of the season against Larsson in the fourth quarter.

– But this wasn’t just tough-guy stuff.

– This was Larsson establishing a career-high in assists in this one, with nine.

– Pelle Larsson as point forward.

– Who knew?

– While also filling out the rest of the box score.

– In another of the night’s storylines, to his credit, through all the ups and downs of playing time, Kel’el Ware showed up every night for work.

– Until Tuesday night he and Dru Smith were the only Heat players to appear in every game.

– With Ware missing Tuesday night’s game against the Kings with hamstring tightness.

– Which happens.

– But it also showed how thin the Heat stand in their power rotation.

– So from the deep freeze, Nikola Jovic moved back into the rotation.

– As Vlad Goldin remained in the G League, clearly not ready for NBA action.

– The irony is that lined up against the Heat starters on Tuesday night was Precious Achiuwa, who was waived by the Heat at the end of camp.

– Granted, it’s not as if the Heat stood an Achiuwa away at the end of camp.

– But since that move with Precious, the Heat have remained with an open roster spot, now for over a month with enough room to sign a player and remain under the punitive luxury tax.

– As Jovic again struggled on Tuesday night, there seemingly would be something to be said about another big body.

– For now? A waiting game.

– Perhaps that extra tax space is being saved for a bigger move.

– Perhaps not having another big body is management’s way of making sure Ware plays.

– But for as set as the Heat are at the wing and in the backcourt, another big seemingly could provide insurance.

– For nights such as Tuesday.

– In case the other center, in Tuesday’s case Bam Adebayo, is injured or in foul trouble.

– Or if there have been harsher sanctions from Tuesday night’s Adebayo dustup with DeRozan in the second quarter.

– Where have you gone Kevin Love?

– (And, no, the Heat cannot reacquire him directly from the Jazz.)

– So for now, still a vacant roster spot.

– Still space under the tax to sign an additional player.

– Still a holding pattern.

– The Heat for the second consecutive night opened with a lineup of Adebayo, Larsson, Andrew Wiggins, Norman Powell and Davion Mitchell.

– That lineup is now 3-2.

– It was Larsson’s 23rd start.

– The start was the 499th of Adebayo’s career.

– He is now two starts from tying Udonis Haslem for the second most starts in franchise history.

– The Kings opened with a lineup of  Russell Westbrook, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan , Precious Achiuwa  and Maxime Raynaud.

–  Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr. entered together in the Heat’s first substitution.

– After Jovic was limited to four minutes of mop-up duty in Monday’s blowout loss to the Warriors.

–  Simone Fontecchio and Kasparas Jakucionis followed together, for nine deep.

– And then Myron Gardner ahead of Dru Smith.

– The game completed the night of the Heat’s NBA-high 17 back-to-back sets. The Heat entered 5-3 on the second nights of such pairings.