Game Rewind: Pacers 117, Heat 115

Sunday, April 7 at 5:00 PM ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

The Pacers' first playoff berth since 2020 is within reach.

Indiana (45-34) built a 22-point lead and held off a late rally from Miami to gut out a 117-115 over the Heat (43-35) on Sunday night in a game with major playoff implications.

Seven players scored in double figures for the Blue & Gold, with veterans Myles Turner and T.J. McConnell leading the way. Turner registered a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds, while McConnell contributed 22 points on 11-of-14 shooting and five assists off the bench.

The Pacers entered Sunday's contest in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings, a half-game up on Miami. By winning Sunday's game, they not only increased their lead, but also secured the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Heat, meaning they have essentially a two-game lead with three games remaining in the regular season.

The top six teams in each conference at the end of next week advance directly to the playoffs, while the teams that finish seventh through 10th will compete in the Play-In Tournament for the final two playoff spots.

The Pacers now can secure a top-six seed with wins in two of their final three games. If they win all three, they would finish no worse than fifth.

"It feels good," Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said after the win. "At the end of the day, this is one of those games that it doesn't matter how you get it, you've just got to get it. Obviously we had a big lead that dwindled, some moments there that the game could have swayed the either way, but I think that we just dug in and found a way to win."

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The Pacers led 99-85 following Pascal Siakam's layup with 7:23 remaining, but the Heat charged back with a 16-4 run, making it a two-point game following Caleb Martin's jumper with 3:21 to play.

Indiana's All-Star stepped up on the other end, as Haliburton burst to the basket for a crucial layup with 2:57 left. After Nikola Jovic missed a runner, Aaron Nesmith drew a foul on Jimmy Butler and knocked down both foul shots to push the Pacers' lead back to six with 2:34 remaining.

Butler found Martin on a backdoor cut for a basket at 2:15, but Siakam answered by attacking on the other end, hitting a runner through contact from Tyler Herro, then making a free throw to convert the three-point play.

Two Butler free throws at the 1:47 mark got the Heat back within two possessions, but once again the Pacers were aggressive. Nesmith took a pass from Haliburton the right wing and drove to the rim, converting a layup and drawing a foul on Bam Adebayo with 1:25 remaining.

He hit the foul shot to push the lead to 113-105.

Herro hit a three the next trip down the floor, then — after the teams traded misses — drew a foul on Siakam on a 3-point attempt with 23 seconds remaining. Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle challenged the call, but was unsuccessful, and Herro knocked down all three shots from the charity stripe to make it a two-point game.

After a timeout, the Heat fouled Myles Turner with 17.1 seconds left. The longest tenured Pacer knocked down both foul shots, but Herro answered with a deep three off a hand-off from Butler that cut the deficit to 115-114 with 10.1 remaining.

Herro then fouled Nesmith with 6.6 seconds to play. The Pacers forward hit both shots before Heat coach Erik Spoelstra used his final timeout.

Andrew Nembhard deflected the first inbounds out of bounds, leaving 5.1 seconds. Nembhard then intentionally fouled Herro on the next inbound with 3.6 seconds to play.

Herro made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, but was called for a lane violation chasing the rebound. The Pacers played keepaway on the ensuing inbound, running out the clock and hanging on for a vital victory.

"The fourth quarter was a situation where they were going to keep coming," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. "We knew it. It was a matter of bend not break and hanging in there. Herro hit a couple of hellacious shots, but guys at this time of year in these moments do those kinds of things. Our guys held up. It's a huge win for us."

Siakam finished with 18 points and eight rebounds for Indiana, while Nesmith stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, five boards, three assists, and two steals.

Butler led the Heat with 27 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists, going 7-for-16 from the field and 12-for-12 from the free throw line. Adebayo added 20 points and 12 boards. Herro, in his second game back from a left knee injury that had sidelined him since Feb. 23, scored 21 off the bench.

Turner scored six quick points while Haliburton and Nesmith each knocked down an early three as Indiana raced out to an 18-9 lead.

The Pacers' offense stayed hot for the entire first quarter. The Blue & Gold went 16-for-24 (66.7 percent) from the field in the opening frame, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range. On the other end, they limited the Heat to 9-of-23 shooting (39.1 percent) and 0-for-7 from beyond the arc. As a result, Indiana entered the second quarter leading 38-24.

McConnell got cooking in the ensuing frame, scoring eight straight Pacers points early in the quarter. His final four points in that span were the start of a 10-0 run by the Blue & Gold. Siakam's transition bucket capped the sequence and put Indiana up 54-33 with five minutes remaining in the first half.

The Heat weren't able to trim into that deficit significantly over the remainder of the half. Siakam's jumper pushed the lead to 63-41 with 39.8 seconds to play before a Terry Rozier jumper and an Adebayo 3-pointer on Miami's final two possessions made it a 17-point game at the intermission.

Adebayo and Butler scored all of the Heat's points as the visitors opened the second half with an 11-6 run to trim the Pacers' lead to 69-57.

The Blue & Gold answered, as Siakam and Turner knocked drilled threes on back-to-back possessions to push the lead back to 18, but the Heat kept coming after a timeout. Second-year forward Nikola Jovic scored eight points as Miami reeled of an 11-2 run over the next 2:21 to get the Heat back within single digits at 77-68.

Martin's three a couple minutes later cut the Heat's deficit to 81-73 before Obi Toppin provided Indiana with some extra breathing room, knocking down treys on two straight possessions.

The hosts took a 91-78 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Heat had one more run in them. They managed to get within one, but Indiana held on for the victory.

"This game is a great simulator of playoff basketball," Carlisle said. "Everything's going to be hard, everything's going to be contested, everything's going to be physical...All of those emotions make meaningful games at this time of the year very challenging.

"Our guys maintained their poise. We weren't perfect down the stretch, but we did what we needed to do."

Toppin scored 13 key points off the bench, going 3-for-4 from 3-point range. Haliburton amassed 12 points and eight assists, while Nembhard finished with 10 points and three steals.

Martin scored 20 off the bench for Miami on 8-of-10 shooting, while Jovic scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half.

The Pacers will embark on a two-game road trip, visiting Toronto on Tuesday and Cleveland on Friday, before returning to the Fieldhouse to host Atlanta on Sunday to close out the regular season.

McConnell surpassed 20 points for the fourth time this season and continued his recent stretch of strong play. Over his last 19 games dating back to March 1, McConnell is averaging 13.8 points and 5.0 assists off the bench.

Turner recorded his 16th double-double of the season in the victory.

The Blue & Gold shot 51.2 percent from the field and came through at the free throw line, going 20-for-21 (95.2 percent) from the charity stripe.

The Pacers improved to 18-6 on the season when seven players reach double figures.

Indiana outscored Miami 58-42 in points in the paint.

Both teams took good care of the ball, each only committing seven turnovers.

"Tonight was definitely a playoff-type game, playoff-type atmosphere. It was good for us to be on the right side of one of those...The maturity that we showed to take it one possession at a time and get the stops that we needed. And the free throws down the stretch were huge, too. Credit to the coaching staff. They had us ready. Now we've got to just take it one game at a time." -McConnell on the feeling in the Fieldhouse

"It's such a storied rivalry and the fans who showed up tonight, that fourth quarter was electric." -Turner on playing in a high-stakes home game against Miami

"I liked our poise down the stretch when things got tough. Our timeouts were very level-headed and guys were engaging with each other on the things we needed to do...We certainly could have played better, but we played well enough to win." -Carlisle on withstanding the Heat's late run

"We knew Miami wasn't going to go away. It's just not who they are. They're so well-coached with Spo and they run great stuff and they've got great players, obviously. We knew they were going to come charging back. We just had to be ready for it. I thought we did a good job." -McConnell on withstanding the Heat's rally

"I think everybody really was just locked in. Our bench was dialed in with celebrations. That type of stuff matters this time of year. I think that everybody knew what was at stake tonight." -Turner

"He's playing great. He's just simply playing at a very, very high level. He gives us a consistent lift...He was one of our best players clearly in this game." -Carlisle on McConnell's consistent strong play

"He provides a consistent level of energy night in and night out. He's someone that we really rely on as a team. I really think that T.J. hasn't really doubted himself. He's a complete player. This is the most confident I've ever seen him...He's just so aggressive. I think he's really flipped the switch." -Turner on McConnell

"Myles was terrific. He was really solid defensively. Adebayo scored some points, but Myles made those baskets baskets that he needed to earn. He really did. Myles also had a big rebounding night. He had 22 and 13 — those are monster numbers. He's one of our best players and this time of year, your best players need to shine." -Carlisle on Turner

"I knew the stakes were high today. Just playing through some injuries this time of year, it's just something that's necessary...These are the games you need to buckle down and win." -Turner on playing well despite dislocating the index finger on his shooting hand earlier this week

"What he does for us on both ends — what did he have, 22 and 13? — and the presence he has at the rim, he was great. He's as elite of a shotblocker as they come. He's been unbelievable for us this year and made some timely plays for us." -McConnell on Turner

"T.J. and our second group were really big. Obi was amazing. I think we just had a lot of guys contribute. I think that's just a kudos to the depth of our team, which we've talked about all year." -Haliburton

The Pacers' magic number to secure a playoff berth is down to two. The Pacers can secure a top seed with two more wins, two losses by both Miami and Philadelphia, or one win and one loss by the Heat and Sixers.

The Pacers travel to Toronto to take on RJ Barrett and the Raptors on Tuesday, April 9 at 7:00 PM ET.

The Pacers close out the regular season by hosting Dejounte Murray and the Atlanta Hawks for the annual Fan Appreciation Game presented by Kroger on Sunday, April 14 at 1:00 PM ET. Find Tickets >>