by Raegan Walsh
Despite owning their first lead at a halftime break in six games, the Indiana Pacers (9-8) dropped a 142-132 loss to the Miami Heat (11-8) on Thursday night in the first of two consecutive games between the two teams in Miami.
Through three quarters of play, the matchup seemed as if it would end in a wire-to-wire victory for the Pacers. However, a 28-9 fourth-quarter scoring run gave Miami not only the lead but a 16-point advantage on one occasion as they sped ahead to 45 fourth-quarter points and a season-high offensive output of 142.
Despite the loss, Tyrese Haliburton had a career-high 44 points on 15-of-28 shooting from the floor, including six 3-pointers. Haliburton also recorded his highest-scoring first half of his career as he notched 28 points in the first 24 minutes of play. He also contributed his 13th double-double of the season with 10 assists.
In addition, Obi Toppin added 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor.
It was the Indiana Pacers that were the ones on fire to open the matchup against the Heat. Right from the jump, Indiana got off to a hot start as they took a 13-point lead roughly five minutes into the game. The Blue and Gold’s 20-7 scoring run that earned them the quick advantage was fueled by eight points from Toppin and six points from Haliburton.
Though Miami cut the deficit in half with a 7-0 scoring run a minute and a half later, Indiana maintained their lead and did not allow the advantage to become less than five points for the remainder of the quarter.
Myles Turner, who contributed seven points in the first frame, capped off the quarter for Indiana’s offense with a successful three-point play after being fouled on a layup with roughly a minute left in the frame. A 3-pointer from Duncan Robinson and a jump shot from Bam Adebayo in Miami’s next two possessions allowed the Heat to chip at the Indiana lead and bring it within five-points.
Indiana never trailed in the first quarter as they closed out the frame ahead, 38-33. The Blue and Gold controlled the quarter by shooting 71.4 percent (15-of-21) from the floor and outrebounding Miami, 10-4.
Haliburton led the Pacers in the first frame by recording 13 points and dishing out three assists. Toppin ended the first frame with 10 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting clip.
Indiana opened the second quarter 3-of-6 from the floor but were then held scoreless as they made only one of their next six attempts. During Indiana’s cold spell, Miami went on a 13-4 scoring run that was capped off with two completed free-throws from Josh Richardson with roughly five minutes remaining in the half. The comeback effort brought the Heat within two points of the Indiana lead, which was the Pacers’ smallest advantage since the 10:51 minute mark of the first quarter.
The Pacers were quick to respond with seven completed field goals on nine attempts in the next five minutes, allowing them to break away with an 11-point lead on one occasion. Indiana held out a nine-point lead going into the locker room.
Haliburton shined once again as he racked up 15 points in the second quarter on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor, including recording Indiana’s only three 3-pointers of the frame. Haliburton scored 28 points in the first half.
In addition, Aaron Nesmith added seven points in the second frame on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting clip.
Right out of the intermission, Kyle Lowry got the Heat going on the offensive end of the floor when he scored their first three buckets of the second half on three attempts. Following an Indiana timeout, Jimmy Butler kept the tempo going when he went 2-of-2 from the floor, while Thomas Bryant added a bucket of his own.
Indiana responded to Miami’s comeback effort with a 10-2 scoring run of their own that cruised them to a 10-point lead.
Toppin helped the Pacers maintain their advantage by leading Indiana with 11 points in the third quarter on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor. Indiana shot 11-of-22 in the quarter, but only recorded one 3-pointer on 10 attempts.
Two free throws from Butler brought Miami within three-points with 35.2 seconds remaining in the third frame. After a missed 3-pointer from Turner, Miami also failed to convert in their final possession of the quarter.
The Pacers continued to lead the way, 100-97, going into the fourth quarter. Miami outscored Indiana for the first time in the matchup, 33-27, with the help of Butler who contributed 16 points to the comeback effort.
Buddy Hield opened the final frame for the Pacers with his first 3-pointer of the game to give Indiana a six-point lead. However, Indiana’s reign would soon come to an end.
It was a completed layup from Jaime Jaquez Jr. at the 10:07 mark that allowed Miami to take their first lead of the matchup. This layup sparked an inextinguishable Heat who proceeded to take as much as a 16-point lead with the help of a 22-5 scoring run.
Indiana did manage to come close to cutting the deficit on two occasions when they came six-points between themselves and the Heat but were ultimately unable to overcome Miami’s dominant quarter.
For Miami, the Heat were led by Butler’s 36 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Miami’s bench, led by Jaquez Jr.’s 24 points, outscored Indiana’s reserves, 66-23.
Inside the Numbers
Tyrese Haliburton racked up a career-high 45 points on 15-of-28 shooting from the floor in the loss. He also recorded his 13th double-double of the season by dishing out 10 assists.
Obi Toppin recorded his third 20+ point game of the season with 25 points on 66.6 percent shooting (10-of-15) from the floor.
Four other Pacers ended the night in double-figure scoring: Bruce Brown (15), Myles Turner (13), Buddy Hield (12) and Bennedict Mathurin (12).
Miami outrebounded Indiana, 47-34.
The Pacers recorded 11 steals, while Miami only recorded four.
Kyle Lowry recorded Miami’s sole block in the matchup.
Indiana took 43 3-point field goal attempts and only completed 11 of them.
The Pacers shot 65.6 percent (21-of-32) from the free throw line, while Miami shot 84.4 percent (38-of-45).
You Can Quote Me On That
“Fourth quarter was obviously very rough. And a lot of it was our fouling to extend the game. But we gotta play better overall. We gotta make more shots, we gotta defend situations better.” – Head Coach Rick Carlisle on the loss
“I just wanna win. So, it’s frustrating right now. I think we’re just in a frustrating place in the season right now. But we gotta figure it out. We gotta come together. This is the time where you know, you can split or you can come together and figure it out, and I think we’ll do the latter. I believe in this group.” – Tyrese Haliburton on the loss
“We just missed shots that we usually make. Tough night. But we did score a lot of points, we just gotta defend.” – Bruce Brown on the loss
“I just felt like we came out with a lot of energy, we were playing our basketball, how we play. Doing all the right things. In the second half, we kind of slacked a bit defensively. Started missing shots, which is part of the game.” – Obi Toppin on Indiana’s starting momentum
“He could become a face of a franchise and you could build around him… he [has a] winning personality. He had a similar impact on the USA team this summer.” – Miami Head Coach Erik Spoelstra on Haliburton
“We’ve got another shot at these guys on Saturday. It’s a tough place to play, they’re a hard-playing team.” – Carlisle on Saturday’s matchup
“I think it’s great that we get another chance at them. Obviously, we’ll be a little mad that we lost tonight, so we’ll try to get them on Saturday.” – Brown on Saturday’s matchup
“I’m just going out there, playing my basketball and doing whatever I can do help the team win. Got great guys around me. Everybody who is on the court is doing their job to not only help themselves but help everybody else.” – Toppin on his recent performances
“We were a little helter skelter offensively there in the late third and the whole fourth. I gotta do a better job putting guys in the right position to succeed, so I’ll take that.” – Haliburton on his leadership
“Look, we just gotta play better. It’s a 48 minute game, not a 36 minute game. We’ll look at it. There’s no excuses. I do know there were a lot of small defensive mistakes that lead to baskets for them. And that kills momentum. It takes us out of transition” – Carlisle on the loss
Stat of the Night
Tyrese Haliburton dropped a career-high 44 points in the loss on 15-of-28 shooting from the floor. After draining five 3-pointers and converting nine of 14 field goal attempts in the first half, the All-Star guard recorded 28 points– also a career-high for points in a half– within the first 24 minutes of play. In addition, Haliburton recorded 10 assists in his 13th double-double of the season, making him the sole owner of the two 40+ point and 10+ assist games in franchise history.
Noteworthy
- Pacers forward Jalen Smith, who did not return to Monday’s game after suffering a left heel contusion in the third quarter, did not make the trip to Miami.
- Heat starting center Bam Adebayo did not return to the game after being hit in the hip in the first half.
Up Next
The Pacers and Heat will square off again in Miami on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 8:00 PM ET.
Originally posted on pacers.com