The Miami HEAT fell to the Indiana Pacers 99-91 Friday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Josh Richardson led the way for the HEAT with 28 points.
1. J. Rich Stays Hot From Deep
From the opening tip, Richardson was locked in from downtown.
In fact, he tied a career high with seven made triples, including this huge bucket as Miami was trying to mount a comeback late in the fourth:
All told, the 25-year-old led the HEAT with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the period and did all he could to try and shift momentum his team’s way.
On the flip side of the ball, Richardson played hard-nosed defense against both Bojan Bogdanović and Victor Oladipo for most of the evening.
Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough in the end.
In addition to his game-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including a crazy 7-of-10 from long-range, J. Rich also had four boards, two assists and a steal.
2. McGruder Does His Thing
Oladipo isn’t an easy cover by any stretch of the imagination.
But Rodney McGruder wasn’t fazed.
Thanks to McGruder’s relentless approach and ability to fight over screens, Oladipo shot just 3-of-12 on the night.
On the offensive end, the 27-year-old McGruder found success off the dribble as usual and came through with some tough finishes inside.
That said, one of his more impressive plays came early on in the first quarter when he ran the floor very well and caught Oladipo sleeping on a cut and reverse layup.
That’s essentially a microcosm of McGruder’s career: never stop.
When it was all said and done, the Kansas State product tallied 11 points, five rebounds, a steal and a team-high plus-13 rating.
3. BAM Punishes The Rim
Watching Bam Adebayo go to work never gets old.
And while he had some solid moments against the Pacers, nothing quite touches this sequence in the second quarter where he blocked Tyreke Evans, grabbed the board and took it coast to coast for a massive jam in transition:
I mean, look at where he took off.
Adebayo finished with eight points, six boards, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
Game Note:
-Dwyane Wade (Personal Reasons), James Johnson (Sports Hernia Surgery), Dion Waiters (Left Ankle Surgery) and Yante Maten (Sioux Falls Assignment) were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT will now head home to get ready for their matchup with the Lakers on Sunday at 6PM. Tickets for that game at AmericanAirlines Arena can be found here.