Exhibit A of how the Miami Heat can wear you down came in Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series Tuesday against the Indiana Pacers.
Against an opponent that started shorthanded and quickly become even more undermanned, the Heat shook off a shaky start and an uneven third quarter to hold off the Indiana Pacers 113-101.
The victory at the start of the best-of-seven series at Disney's Wide World of Sports was fueled by 28 points Jimmy Butler, 24 from Goran Dragic, 17 from Bam Adebayo and 15 from Tyler Herro.
A pair of late, and unlikely 3-pointers by Butler helped put it away. It was the first time Butler converted multiple 3-pointers in a game since Feb. 3 and the first time he even made one since March 2.
For the Pacers, it turned into T.J. Warren, Malcolm Brogdon or bust, with Warren scoring 22 and Brogdon 22.
With All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis already away from the Pacers due to a foot issue, Indiana lost former All-Star guard Victor Oladipo in the first quarter after he was inadvertently poked in the eye by the Heat's Jae Crowder.
Game 2 is Thursday at 1 p.m., with all games played in the void of fans in the quarantine setting at Disney World, amid the new coronavirus pandemic.
Five degrees of Heat from Tuesday's game:
1. Foul moment: The Pacers lost Oladipo for good with 3:24 to play in the opening period after he Crowder's inadvertent foul.
Justin Holiday promptly stepped in for Oladipo and converted three first-half 3-pointers.
Oladipo closed with four points, going 4 of 4 from the line, 0 for 2 from the field.
With Oladipo out, the Heat went from a 33-27 deficit at the end of the opening period to a 56-52 halftime lead.
Edmond Sumner then started the second half in place of Oladipo.
2. Dragic starts: As Kendrick Nunn indicated after Monday's practice, he was out of the starting lineup and Dragic was in, with the move paying significant dividends, as Dragic filled out the box score.
The Heat's first five was rounded out by Adebayo, Butler, Crowder and Duncan Robinson. That grouping started twice in the Disney seeding games and entered plus-33 in 51 total minutes during the regular season.
Dragic had started just three regular-season games, and it was the first time in the NBA that Nunn had played as a reserve.
In order, Tyler Herro, Andre Iguodala, Derrick Jones Jr. and Kelly Olynyk followed in the rotation.
Nunn did not play, the first benching of his Heat career.
3. Jones back: Four days after sustaining a frightening neck injury in the Heat's regular-season finale, Jones was back in the Heat mix, entering late in the first quarter.
It leaves a 10-game stretch with a hip strain in November as the last time Jones has been held out due to injury.
Jones was on the court almost motionless for several seconds during Friday's loss to the Pacers, immobilized with both a back board and neck brace, before being rolled off the court on a gurney. The ultimate diagnosis, after a series of tests, was a neck strain.
Jones' situation is complicated in that he is an impending unrestricted free agent, positioned for the first time in his career for a contract worth more than the veteran's minimum.
4. Attack mode: Indiana made their approach clear from the outset: If Robinson, Dragic or Herro are in front of you, take your man off the dribble.
That left Indiana with 16 paint points in a first quarter, as well as 12 first-period free throws.
And on it went, with Brogdon practically frothing when Robinson was in front of him.
Such is the tradeoff on with the Heat's move to one more reliant on offense.
5. Warren statement: Continuing with his hot play from the seeding games, Warren put up his highest scoring total of the season against the Heat. The Pacers' move to small ball continues to prove a liberating existence for the Phoenix Suns castoff.
