The Miami HEAT fell to the Indiana Pacers 106-95 Wednesday afternoon at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 20 points and seven assists.
Impact Performance of the Game: Despite the loss, Chris Bosh fought hard down the stretch and did all he could to try and leave Indiana with a victory. Bosh hit two big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter that kept the HEAT within striking distance. Throughout the game, Bosh picked his spots and set up his teammates with some great passes. In all, Bosh scored 18 points on 50 percent shooting and grabbed eight boards.
The Deciding Run: The Pacers closed the third quarter on a 17-2 run to go up 78-70. The HEAT kept fighting back in the fourth quarter, but it unfortunately wasn’t enough.
Earlier, Miami closed the first half on an 18-12 run to take a 51-42 lead entering halftime. Hassan Whiteside really made an impact towards the end of the second quarter.
Play of the Game: With a little over 33 seconds to go in the second quarter, Dwyane Wade rifled a pass inside to Chris Bosh. Bosh then threw a perfect behind-the-back pass to Hassan Whiteside, who caught it with one hand. From there, Whiteside gathered himself and threw down the two-handed slam to put the HEAT up 49-42.
Another nice play came with 3:27 to go in the second quarter, when Roy Hibbert went up for a shot in the post. However, Dwyane Wade came from behind, measured his jump and swatted the 7-footer’s shot.
Lastly, with 9:45 left in the first quarter, Luol Deng drove inside from the right wing. He then threw up a nice lob for Chris Andersen, who made a nice adjustment to finish the play with his left hand and give Miami a 4-2 advantage early on.
Efficiency Rating: Offensive Efficiency: 106.8; Defensive Efficiency: 113.7
Trend to Watch: Once more, the HEAT received great contributions from their big men. Chris Andersen has thrived as a starter for the first time in his career and had a great start on Wednesday afternoon. Andersen scored eight points and grabbed six boards in his first ten minutes of action, as he was very active. He continued that throughout the game and did all the dirty work inside, especially on the defensive end. On one possession in the third quarter, Andersen blocked Solomon Hill and Roy Hibbert back-to-back. Andersen finished the game with 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Hassan Whiteside also played very well. Whiteside had a great stretch at the end of the second quarter where he cleaned up misses, worked well in the post and protected the rim. In all, Whitside had six points, seven boards and three blocks.
The Takeaway: The HEAT looked very good in the first half, as everyone moved well without the ball on offense and also got stops on the other end. However, the Pacers caught fire in the third quarter and that changed the complexion of this game.
Still, it was encouraging to see the team fight back in the fourth quarter. Thanks to Bosh and Luol Deng, Miami closed the gap to single-digits on a few occasions, but it wasn’t in the cards. Up next for the HEAT are the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
Game Highlights: