INDIANAPOLIS _ This time it was up to Miami Heat assistant coach Dan Craig to coordinate the drama, with coach Erik Spoelstra back in South Florida for the birth of his son.
Ultimately, the labor proved difficult _ for the Heat _ with the Indiana Pacers pulling away in overtime for a 113-107 victory Sunday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
In losing for the 11th time in their last 12 road games, the Heat fell to No. 8 in the Eastern Conference behind the Milwaukee Bucks, who defeated the San Antonio Spurs earlier in the day.
A pair of late 3-pointers from Indiana point guard Darrin Collison proved decisive.
The Heat were led by the 19 points of Tyler Johnson, 15 from James Johnson, with backup center Kelly Olynyk filling the box score with 12 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
The Pacers got 23 points from Victor Oladipo, 22 from Thaddeus Young and 18 from Bogdan Bogdanovic.
The Heat were without center Hassan Whiteside for the eighth consecutive game with what the team is listing as a strained left hip flexor, with Bam Adebayo again starting in his place.
The Heat opened overtime with a driving basket from Dwyane Wade, which was matched by a putback basket by Young.
Josh Richardson then scored inside, but Oladipo countered with a 3-pointer for a 101-100 Indiana lead.
Another inside basket and another Oladipo 3-pointer followed amid empty Heat possessions, to put the Pacers up 106-100 with 1:20 left.
Richardson then scored on a floater to draw the Heat back within 106-102, but this time it was a Collison 3-pointer and another Collison 3-pointer that effectively ended it.
With 61 seconds left in regulation, off a timeout, the Pacers isolated Oladipo, who made his way to the foul line by drawing the fifth foul on Olynyk, tying it 95-95.
The score remained that way until Pacers center Myles Turner got to the line with 23.1 seconds to play in regulation. Turner made only the first free throw for a 96-95 Pacers lead.
Heat forward James Johnson then appeared to score on a go-ahead drive, but the officials ruled he was fouled before his basket. Left to inbound, the Heat then got James Johnson to the line, where he made only the first free throw, to leave it in a 96-96 tie with 7.1 seconds left in the fourth.
Oladipo then got caught in a web of Heat defense, off with a heave at the regulation buzzer.
At 82-74, the Pacers took their largest lead to that stage into the fourth quarter, with Goran Dragic up to four fouls at that stage and Richardson largely a non-factor.
The Pacers responded from their early 14-point deficit to move ahead by six in the second period, before the Heat took a 53-52 lead into halftime.
Adebayo made all three of his second-period shots to close with 10 in the quarter, at 12 for the first half.
With Tyler Johnson converting his first four 3-point attempts, the Heat pushed to a 14-point first-quarter lead before the Pacers rallied to close within 30-21 entering the second period.
Part of the early problem for the Heat were the six first-quarter turnovers that offset their early 6-of-10 3-point shooting.
It was the fourth and final game of the four-game season series, with the Heat entering 2-1.
The Heat won the first meeting, 112-108 Oct. 21 at AmericanAirlines Arena, were blown out in the second meeting, 120-95 Nov. 19 in Miami, and then won the most recent matchup, 114-106 Jan. 10 in Indiana.
The Heat entered having won six of the previous eight meetings, but had lost 10 in a row during the regular season in Indiana before that Jan. 10 victory.
The game concluded a two-game trip for the Heat, with a four-game homestand to follow, starting Tuesday against LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
The Heat were coming off Friday's 105-99 loss in Oklahoma City, their 10th loss in their previous 11 road games, entering only one road victory since Jan. 29.
The game concluded a two-game homestand for the Pacers, with a challenging four-game western swing to follow.
Indiana was coming off Friday's 109-104 victory over the Clippers, having lost three of their previous four before that win.
