Heat-Pacers Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Feb 14 2012 1:13AM

The Miami Heat are off to one of the best starts in their history.

A visit to the Indiana Pacers may not slow them down.

The Heat will try to continue their recent mastery of the Pacers, losers of a season-high three straight, on Tuesday night.

Miami (22-7) equaled its best record through 29 games with another decisive win, 114-96 at Milwaukee on Monday. Since dropping the opener of a season-high six-game road trip, the Heat have won three in a row by an average of 18.3 points.

LeBron James matched a season high with 16 field goals made Monday, finishing with 35 points while missing just five shots.

"(We're) just playing good ball," he said. "It's not about one guy. Everyone is in a flow. When we're in a flow, we're a really good team."

Miami won 25 of 32 to start the 2004-05 campaign, and opened 24-7 in 1996-97.

They'll try to get a little closer to those starts against Indiana (17-10), which typically struggled in this series even before James and Chris Bosh joined the Heat prior to last season. The Pacers have dropped seven of eight to the Heat, including a 118-83 drubbing Jan. 4 at American Airlines Arena.

Miami took control of that contest by outscoring Indiana 33-12 in the second quarter, and James finished with 33 points, a season-high 13 assists and eight rebounds.

Now, the Heat will next try to record their fourth straight road win over the Pacers after losing 34 of their first 39 visits to Indiana. Dwyane Wade tied a franchise record by scoring 31 of his 41 points in the first half of a 110-103 win in Indiana last February.

Miami, though, needed a combined 19 points from James and Bosh in the fourth quarter to prevail after blowing a 24-point lead.

The Pacers aren't playing their best as they head into a stretch of three games in three days. Indiana has allowed an average of 102.7 points during its three-game skid - 11.6 more than its previous season average.

The Pacers blew an early 13-point lead Saturday and fell 113-109 to Denver.

"(We have to) focus on the task at hand. That's the only approach you can have to get back on the winning track," coach Frank Vogel said. "You have won game to win and that's the only thing that matters. Nothing in the past matters, nothing in the future matters. We've got to just focus on the task at hand and try to get a W."

Indiana leading scorer Danny Granger had 26 points and shot 10 of 18 in the loss to the Nuggets, but scored only six in last month's loss to Miami while shooting 2 of 13 from the floor.

Pacers forward David West has scored a season-high 22 in each of his last two games but was held to nine in the Jan. 4 defeat.

Wade has topped 40 points in each of his last two visits to Indiana.

Miami hits new milestones by routing Pacers 105-90

By MICHAEL MAROT
Posted Feb 14 2012 11:11PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) LeBron James and Dwyane Wade found a way to motivate their teammates Tuesday night.

They challenged them to play for history.

James scored 23 points and nearly produced his first triple double in 11 months as Miami rolled to a 105-90 victory at Indiana to become the first NBA team in 33 years to win three road games in three nights.

No big deal to these All-Stars.

"I think as far as team chemistry, we got better every single night," James said. "Tonight we had 17 assists. We rebounded and defended. When we do that, we're very, very tough to beat and it shows the professionalism of the group."

Some thought it was time for Miami's remarkable run to come crashing down.

They were playing their fourth road game in five days and were facing a team that had just gotten a two-day break and had hoped to make amends for a 35-point loss last month in Miami.

Instead, Indiana got Miami at full power.

After a quick start, the Heat dominated every facet until the closing minutes when the Pacers finally started trimming the lead.

Miami matched the three-game feat last achieved by Phoenix from Dec. 21-23, 1979. Miami also became the first team to win each of the three games by double digits since Milwaukee from Nov. 20-22, 1970. Plus, at 23-7, Miami has now tied the franchise's best start.

"Our guys wanted this challenge and we were well aware it had not been done in 40 years, to back-to-back-to-back on the road and be able to stay focused," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who wasn't even a month old when the Bucks pulled off their feat. "We threw out anything we could have used as a crutch."

And the Heat never gave Indiana a chance.

Things were going so well at halftime that James turned to the crowd and acted like he was reeling in a fish. Then during a third-quarter timeout, Mike Miller grabbed something resembling a rope from the team trainer and acted like he was going to bring in a steer. There were smiles all around all night long.

But instead of looking fatigued, the Heat did all the little things right - making crisp passes, playing strong defense and rarely giving the Pacers (17-11) an open lane to the basket.

James had nine points and six assists in the first 14 minutes. He finished with nine rebounds and seven assists.

Wade made his first five shots and had 10 points in a little more than eight minutes.

Rookie Norris Cole tied his season-high with 20 points, and Chris Bosh had 13 points and seven rebounds.

And there was no letdown anywhere. Miami limited the Pacers (17-11) to 6-of-23 shooting in the first quarter and only a late flourish allowed the Pacers to finally climb over the 40 percent mark.

It was downright ugly for Indiana, which lost its fourth straight.

"Pretty embarrassing," Indiana center Roy Hibbert said after scoring 10 points. "They just hit us at the start and we just weren't able to recover. ... None of us came ready to play tonight."

David West led the Pacers with 14 points and Paul George had 12, not nearly enough to avoid a fourth consecutive loss. Even worse, the Pacers (17-11) lost leading scorer Danny Granger with a sprained left ankle late in the first quarter. He did not return, finished with three points and could miss more time this week.

"Yeah, that's my anticipation," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said of Granger. "I don't think he can play (Wednesday at Cleveland)."

Pacers fans had hoped for more after the weary Pacers finally got a two-day break.

But James and the Heat never game Indiana a chance.

Miami used an early 10-0 run to take a 23-9 lead less than eight minutes into the game and led 33-16 after the first quarter. It extended the lead to 51-24 midway through the second quarter and led 68-39 at the half.

Indiana never got closer than 20 until A.J. Price put in a layup to make it 101-83 with 1:49 left in the game, and the Heat got a well-deserved day off.

"I am not looking at Friday right now, I'm looking for a day off," a relieved James said. "Tomorrow's going to be the best day of my life."

NOTES: Pacers guard George Hill missed his ninth straight game with a chip fracture in his left ankle. ... Miami has now won four straight at Indy after losing the previous 14 in a row at Indy. ... Heat forward Juwan Howard was ejected after drawing two technical fouls in the last 61 seconds. ... Indiana played in front of its third sellout crowd this season. ... After the game, James gave his shoes to a woman who brought in a sign reading "Be My Valentine."

Notebook: Heat 105, Pacers 90

Posted Tuesday February 14, 2012 11:08PM

By Conrad Brunner, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Miami isn't just winning games. It is routinely dispatching opponents with a methodical precision that bespeaks a team on a mission. This one was over by halftime, when Miami rolled up 68 points and a 29-point lead on its way to a 105-90 dismantling of Indiana on Tuesday before a sellout crowd of 18,165 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. LeBron James scored 23 with nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals and Norris Cole matched his career high for 20 off the bench as Miami (23-7) swept an all-road back-to-back-to-back and ran its win streak to four games with an average margin of 17.5 points. Indiana (17-11) lost its fourth in a row and fifth in six games and also lost leading scorer Danny Granger to a sprained ankle in the first quarter.

QUOTABLE: "Our guys wanted this challenge and we were well aware it had not been done in 40 years, to go back-to-back to-back on the road, be able to stay focused. We threw out anything we could have used as a crutch."
-- Miami coach Erik Spoelstra

THE STAT: Miami became the first team since the 1979 Phoenix Suns to win three games on the road in three nights, and the first since the Milwaukee Bucks in 1970-71 to win them all by double digits. Miami joined Chicago and Oklahoma City as the only teams to sweep back-to-back-to-back games this season.

TURNING POINT: It would be an exaggeration to say the opening tip, but not much of one. Miami closed the first period on a 20-7 run to take a 33-16 lead, then went 15-4 early in the second to make it a laugher. The lead grew to 35 in the fourth quarter before Indiana chipped into the margin during garbage time.

QUOTABLE II: "I think as far as team chemistry we got better every single night. We moved the ball. Tonight we had 17 assists. We rebounded and we defended. When we do that, we're very, very tough to beat. And it shows the professionalism of the group."
-- James

HOT: The Heat got 42 points from its second unit, including 8-for-12 shooting from Cole. Udonis Haslem had nine rebounds in 20 minutes and Shane Battier scored eight with four boards.

NOT: Indiana shot 34.1 percent in the first half with six assists and 12 turnovers.

QUOTABLE III: "They came out and jumped all over us. There was no way that we could battle back from the hole that we dug for ourselves. They're one of the better teams in the NBA and they're not going to let you back in when they get you down the way they got us down tonight."
-- Indiana's Dahntay Jones

GOOD MOVE: Spoelstra did not give in to the schedule. Tempted to give the players the morning off after their win in Milwaukee the night before, he instead put the team through its usual gameday routine of a walk-through, meeting and video. Despite playing its fifth road game in seven nights, Miami played with much more aggression and commitment from the outset.

BAD MOVE: The Pacers were on their heels from the opening moments of the game and showed their defensive confusion by twice doubling James -- by leaving Wade.

NOTABLE: Indiana was beginning its first back-to-back-to-back set since 1999. It continues Wednesday in Cleveland. ... Granger is listed as day-to-day but coach Frank Vogel said he did not expect his leading scorer to play. ... Miami forward Juwan Howard picked up two technical fouls in the final minutes and was ejected. ... The Pacers are 3-5 since George Hill went down with a chip fracture in his left ankle. ... This was Miami's fourth win in a row over the Pacers and eighth in the last nine games. The Heat have won the last four at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. ... The Pacers' bench scored a season-high 49 points. ... The Heat's 68-39 lead at halftime is its largest halftime lead of the season.

UP NEXT: For the Pacers, Wednesday @ Cleveland, Thursday vs. New Jersey, Sunday vs. Charlotte. For the Heat, Friday @ Cleveland, Sunday vs. Orlando, Tuesday vs. Sacramento.

• Heat: Harris, Pittman
• Pacers: --

• Heat: Howard, Howard
• Pacers: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #72 J.T. Orr, #20 Leroy Richardson
• Attendance: 18165
• Duration: 2:19