INDIANAPOLIS — The Miami Heat did not have the engine that drives their offense, so they turned to their defense Saturday night against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
It almost worked. Almost.
With point guard Kyle Lowry out with an ankle sprain, and with the Heat falling behind by as many as 12, Erik Spoelstra’s team turned up the deterrence, moved to into the lead early in the fourth quarter, forced overtime, but ultimately fell, 102-91.
No, this was not the stylistic tour de force the Heat put together in blowing out the defending-champion Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night at FTX Arena. It wasn’t even enough to outlast a tired opponent coming off a Friday night overtime road loss to the Washington Wizards.
Even with Tyler Herro closing with 30 points and 10 rebounds, Bam Adebayo with 17 points and 16 rebounds, and Jimmy Butler adding 19 points, the Heat proved unable to survive an uneven offensive performance.
Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday night’s game:
1. Closing time: The Heat went down 95-88 with 2:08 left when Chris Duarte converted all three free throws after being fouled by Duncan Robinson. A Domantas Sabonis basket followed with 1:38 to play for a 97-88 Indiana lead, effectively ending it.
Earlier, a pair of 3-pointers by Herro late in regulation helped the Heat forge an 86-86 tie at the end of the fourth quarter.
Both teams missed attempts to take the lead late in the fourth, with Butler off with a 17-foot with 12.2 seconds to play in regulation and Duarte missing a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
2. Pointed issue: With Lowry out, and with Spoelstra’s preference to keep as much of the rotation intact as possible, Gabe Vincent got the start at point guard.
Vincent played his opening 7:40 without a point or assist, then replaced by Herro.
The Heat closed the opening period with five assists and five turnovers and it got worse from there, with seven assists and 10 turnovers at halftime.
3. Again a bucket: By keeping Herro as sixth man, the Heat clearly kept the third-year guard in a comfort zone, as he became the first reserve in the Heat’s 34 seasons to close with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in the same game.
Herro was up to 16 points by halftime, with his 6 of 13 from the field at the intermission diminished by his 1 of 5 on 3-pointers. His 3-point stroke then came around just in time,
4. Adebayo early: Even without the playmaking of Lowry, Adebayo retained his aggressive bent. He closed his initial 8:17 stint with six points and eight rebounds.
He then was replaced by Dewayne Dedmon, who had been listed as questionable earlier in the day with an ankle sprain.
Adebayo already had a double-double with 4:31 left before halftime, with 11 points and 12 rebounds at the intermission.
5. Defensive statement: The Heat limited the Pacers to eight points in the third quarter, on 4-of-17 shooting from the field, 0 for 6 on 3-pointers.
The eight points tied the record for fewest points allowed by the Heat in a third quarter. The all-time opponent low is six in the second quarter against the Bulls on Nov. 6, 1993.
