Pacers topple Heat 137-110 behind strong shooting performance

In arguably its best offensive performance of the season, the Indiana Pacers cruised past the Miami Heat 137-110 on Friday. Indiana’s 137 points were a season high and the most they have ever scored against Miami, breezing past its previous high of 127 (set on Jan. 18, 1992).

Bam Adebayo had a team-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Jimmy Butler tallied 17 points with seven rebounds, knocking down six of his 10 shot attempts. Both Butler and Herro brought down a team-high eight rebounds. Tyler Herro added 13 points on 4-of-15 shooting and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.

Trevor Ariza, who was acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder Wednesday, made his debut in a Heat uniform on Friday. He did not score on his one shot attempt — recording just two rebounds in six minutes, all coming in the first half.

Friday marked Miami’s second straight loss after winning 11 of its previous 12 — falling to 22-20. while the Pacers improve to 18-22. The Heat shot 44.6 percent — 40.8 percent through the first three quarters — netting just nine 3-pointers at a 26.5 percent clip. It has dropped seven of its eight affairs when it has made 10 or fewer 3-pointers this year.

Adebayo recorded the team’s first eight points — attempting five of their first eight shots — giving Miami an early 8-3 advantage. Brogdon’s layup put Indiana ahead 13-11 with 4:33 left in the first quarter. McDermott’s lay-in widened it to 24-19.

Indiana shot 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) from the painted area in the opening quarter and 20-for-27 (74.1 percent) in the first half.

Seven consecutive Pacer points — capped-off from a transition 3-pointer by McDermott — extended their lead to 41-32 with 9:26 left in the first half, prompting a Heat timeout. The Heat missed eight of their first nine from outside.

The first-half lead was as big as 15, but an 11-2 Heat run trimmed it to 54-48 with 4:18 remaining in the opening half. Indiana re-upped it to double digits and headed into halftime with a 68-58 lead.

The Pacers got whatever it wanted on the offensive end, shooting 61.4 percent from the floor and 46.7 percent from deep in the first half. The Heat shot just 39.1 percent, including a dismal 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from beyond the arc. Indiana’s 68 points was the fourth-most points a Heat opponent has scored in an opening half this season.

Indiana exited halftime with eight straight points, but Miami responded with seven straight that cut the deficit to 76-65. Two consecutive 3-pointers from Turner and Brogdon widened its advantage to 84-69. McDermott’s make from deep made it 95-76 with 1:38 left in the third quarter.

Miami netted its first four shots — three coming from beyond the arc — to open the final period, trimming the Pacer lead to 106-93. Lamb’s triple — the team’s 20th — gave Indiana the 136-104 lead with 2:18 to go.

The Pacers shot 58.4 percent from the floor — their second-best shooting output of the year — and sported a season-best 55.6 percent from 3-point range. Their 20 made 3-pointers tied a season-most that was set on Feb. 20 against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Miami had no answers on the defensive end, allowing seven players to score in double figures for Indiana. Malcolm Brogdon recorded a team-high 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting, knocking down seven 3s on nine attempts. Domantas Sabonis recorded his 30th double-double of the season with 13 points on and 15 rebounds, shooting 5-for-11 on the evening.

T.J. McConnell was a thorn in Miami’s side throughout the evening. He hit eight of his nine shot attempts and finished with 16 points, dishing out a team-most 15 assists. It was his third double-double this year. McConnell also recorded team-highs in steals (3) and plus-minus (plus-26) in 29 minutes.

Justin Holiday and Doug McDermott had 17 points apiece. Holiday shot 6-of-9 with five makes from outside, while McDermott went 6-for-12 shooting. Jeremy Lamb added 12 points with three 3-pointers.

Up next:

Miami looks to rebound against the Pacers, as the two meet for its second straight matchup Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST.