It was a good night for the Miami Heat.
The Heat (24-24) clinched a winning trip with a 92-87 victory over the Indiana Pacers (21-25) on Wednesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and returns home to an All-Star talent waiting to make his debut. Miami won two straight to close the three-game trip at 2-1.
Newly acquired two-time All-Star guard Victor Oladipo is expected to make his Heat debut on Thursday against the Golden State Warriors at AmericanAirlines Arena.
But first, the Heat needed to rally from a 15-point third quarter deficit to earn the win in Indianapolis.
Miami closed the third period on a 22-9 run to cut the deficit to just two entering the fourth quarter.
The Heat then outscored the Pacers 27-20 in the final period to complete the comeback.
Duncan Robinson led the way for the Heat with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting from deep, eight rebounds and four assists.
Miami’s leading duo of Bam Adebayo (16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists) and Jimmy Butler (18 points, five rebounds and four assists) combined for 34 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.
Heat guard Tyler Herro finished with 17 points off the bench.
But it was really Miami’s defense that was the star of the night. The Heat’s top-10 defense limited the Pacers to 87 points on 40 percent shooting from the field and 11 of 37 shooting on threes.
The Heat now returns home to take on the Warriors on Thursday to complete its fourth back-to-back set in the past three weeks.
Here are five takeaways from the Heat’s win over the Pacers:
— Oladipo’s expected Heat debut on Thursday will come after very little time around his new teammates and coaches. But he has been working to make up for the time lost.
Oladipo, who was acquired by the Heat last week in a trade with the Houston Rockets, has remained in Miami and missed his second straight game on Wednesday because of a head cold.
During his time away from the team, Oladipo has taken part in a few discussions with coach Erik Spoelstra via Zoom. He has also been working out at AmericanAirlines Arena with assistant coach Caron Butler, who did not travel with the Heat on the trip because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
“We’ve had several Zoom sessions just to review and try to fast-track our system,” Spoelstra said of Oladipo before Wednesday’s game against the Pacers. “But he’s a savvy high-IQ veteran player. He’s going to pick up things very quickly. He has been able to work out the last couple days with Caron at the arena. So they’ve been able to review some things, as well. I’ve talked to him and then we’ll just see him when we get to Miami.”
With Oladipo away from the team during its now completed three-game trip and Thursday’s game coming on the second night of a back-to-back set, a pregame walkthrough will be Oladipo’s only on-court preparation time with Heat teammates before his debut.
“All of these circumstances are a little bit different than in a normal season and this is just another example of how you have to adapt,” Spoelstra said. “But we’re excited to have him.”
Oladipo, 28, last played March 21 in a Rockets loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He’s averaging 20.8 points while shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent on threes, five rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.3 steals this season.
— It was an unusual performance for the Heat’s offense, which did not get a made field goal from either Adebayo or Butler in the first half.
The Heat’s offense struggled to make shots early in the game. With 4:45 left in the second quarter, Miami had totaled just 30 points on 10-of-32 (31.3 percent) shooting from the field and 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) shooting on threes.
It didn’t help that Adebayo and Butler turned in a quiet first half. They combined for eight points — all from the foul line — on 0-of-9 shooting from the field in the first two quarters.
But Adebayo and Butler combined to score 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting in the second half.
The Heat entered with the NBA’s sixth-worst offensive rating. Wednesday was another uneven performance, but it was enough because of another quality defensive display.
— Don’t look now, but Duncan Robinson’s three-point percentage is approaching 40 percent.
Just two weeks ago, part of the conversation surrounding the Heat was focused on Robinson’s three-point regression. But he continued to trend in a positive direction on Wednesday, finishing with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting from deep, eight rebounds and four assists.
During the past five games, Robinson has shot 22 of 40 (55 percent) from three-point range.
Robinson, 26, is now shooting 39.9 percent from deep this season.
That’s a small step back, considering Robinson shot 44.6 percent on threes last season. But he has still been one of the NBA’s top shooters this season, as he entered Wednesday with the fourth-most made threes in the league while shooting around 40 percent from beyond the arc.
— Veteran forward Trevor Ariza continues to struggle to make shots. However, he continues to play as the Heat’s starting small-ball four and his defense has been impressive.
Ariza, who was acquired by the Heat on March 17 in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder, started his fourth consecutive game on Wednesday. He finished with two points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field and 0-of-3 shooting on threes.
Ariza, 35, entered averaging 6.2 points on 13-of-43 (30.2 percent) shooting from the field and 5-of-23 (21.7 percent) shooting from three-point range in his first six games with the Heat.
He said before Wednesday’s game in Indianapolis that he’s “still trying to figure out where I fit in offensively and trying to find my rhythm.”
“Knowing when to pull the trigger and shoot the ball,” Ariza said Wednesday. “I think that’s the biggest thing. I’m in between trying to run an offense and passing up open looks, which I would normally shoot if I understood or if I was comfortable in the mix of things.”
But Ariza’s defensive versatility at 6-8 and 215 pounds has already been on display, as he defended Pacers center Myles Turner (6-11 and 250 pounds) at times on Wednesday.
— The Heat again had just 11 available players, and newcomer Nemanja Bjelica again played limited minutes.
For the second straight game, Miami was without four players: Oladipo (head cold), Kendrick Nunn (sprained right ankle), Udonis Haslem (health and safety protocols) and KZ Okpala (health and safety protocols).
With those four players out, Bjelica again played off the bench on Wednesday. In his second game with the Heat since last week’s trade, Bjelica finished scoreless and grabbed one rebound in five minutes.
All of Bjelica’s minutes came in the second half, as he entered the game as the Heat’s big when Adebayo went to the bench in the third quarter. Spoelstra opted to use Bjelica as Miami’s back-up big in the second half over rookie Precious Achiuwa.
Nunn was questionable to play Wednesday, but he was ruled out for the second straight game just a few hours before tip-off. Goran Dragic again started in Nunn’s place.
Haslem missed his seventh straight game and Okpala missed his fifth straight game because of protocols. The two forwards remained in Miami during the Heat’s trip.
