Game Rewind: Pacers 115, Heat 124 (Game 3)

The Pacers showed no quit on Saturday. Desperately needing a win to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole in their first-round playoff series with the Miami Heat, Indiana dug itself a big hole, falling behind by 18 points after a disastrous first half.

But the Blue & Gold mounted a memorable rally, trimming the deficit to four by the end of the third quarter and twice getting within two in the final frame. But in the end, it wasn't quite enough, as Miami hung on for a 124-115 victory to take a commanding lead in the best-of-seven series.

No team in NBA history has ever rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series.

The Pacers trailed 111-103 following Jimmy Butler's layup with 5:24 to play, but Indiana scored the next six points, climbing with two of the lead on Malcolm Brogdon's layup with 4:07 remaining.

Bam Adebayo scored the next three points, but Brogdon answered, swishing a 3-pointer off a dish from T.J. Warren with 2:21 remaining.

On the other end, Goran Dragic and Butler both missed 3-pointers, but twice Adebayo corralled the offensive rebound. The second time, he drew a foul on Warren, then hit both foul shots at 1:39 to push the Heat's lead back to 116-112.

The Pacers had two possessions down four and with the ball in Warren's hands. But the bubble scoring sensation could not deliver this time, getting blocked by Butler at the rim on the first possession and being stripped by Dragic on the other.

After the latter, Victor Oladipo reached and grabbed Butler, fouling out with 36.7 seconds remaining. The five-time All-Star hit both foul shots and added two more 14 seconds later to effectively seal the win.

"I thought we came out in the second half with the scrap and the fight that we needed to come out with in the first half," Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said after the loss. "I thought we basically came out not with the intensity that was needed or necessary for this game.

"I thought the third quarter we started to play with that intensity, we started to play like we believed and we played a good second half."

Brogdon was brilliant in the loss, scoring a game-high 34 points to go along with seven rebounds and 14 assists. The Pacers' point guard went 11-for-17 from the field, 4-for-7 from 3-point range, and 8-for-8 from the free throw line.

Warren added 23 points, six rebounds, and five steals for Indiana, while Oladipo contributed 20 points and four boards.

Four players topped 20 points for Miami, with Butler leading the way with 27 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals. He went just 5-for-16 from the field, but 17-for-20 from the free throw line as the Heat attempted an astounding 52 free throws as a team.

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The Pacers got off to a solid start in Game 3, forcing three turnovers in the first three minutes while jumping out to an early 8-5 lead. But the Heat answered with a 3-point barrage, as Dragic hit two triples and Jae Crowder added another as Miami surged ahead with an 11-0 run.

Warren and Oladipo sparked the Blue & Gold's offense. Each scored eight points in the opening frame, but the Heat never relinquished their lead in the first quarter. Miami closed the period with five straight points to take a 34-27 lead into the second quarter.

Dragic and Tyler Herro combined for 10 of Miami's first 13 points in the second quarter. Duncan Robinson then checked back in and scored eight straight for the Heat to push their lead to 14.

The Blue & Gold struggled to string together any stops to make any serious run over the remainder of the half. Miami scored 40 points in the second quarter and led by as many as 20. Dragic's buzzer-beating layup gave the Heat a 74-56 advantage heading into halftime.

The Pacers finally played like a desperate team after the intermission. Indiana outscored the Heat 12-2 over the first 3:06 of the second half to trim the deficit to eight and force Miami coach Erik Spoelstra to take an early timeout.

That would be the closest the Blue & Gold could get for most of the frame. Indiana endured a prolonged drought, managing just three points over a four-minute span before Aaron Holiday provided a spark.

Holiday hit a three from the right corner with 1:43 remaining, then hit a left-handed layup on the Pacers' next possession. After Crowder missed a 3-pointer, the Pacers pushed the break and Warren scored in transition. Suddenly the Pacers found themselves trailing by just five with 52.8 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

After a loose ball foul, Myles Turner hit one of two free throws to trim the deficit to four. Herro's runner on the other end ended the Pacers' 8-0 run, but Brogdon answered with a layup in traffic just before the quarter buzzer to make it a 94-90 game entering the fourth.

"We had nothing to lose," Oladipo said of the Pacers' rally. "It was either make something happen or get embarrassed, one of the two. We did a great job fighting making it a game, but unfortunately we came up short."

Doug McDermott's first two points of the game got the Pacers within two in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.

But foul trouble became a problem for Indiana, however, as both Oladipo and Brogdon picked up their fifth fouls in the opening minutes of the final frame. Miami capitalized, building its cushion back up to 104-95 on Herro's 3-pointer with 8:26 to play.

Turner finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks for Indiana. Aaron Holiday, replaced in the starting lineup by his older brother Justin for Game 3, tallied 10 points off the bench on 4-of-5 shooting. Justin added nine points while going 3-for-7 from 3-point range in his first career postseason start.

Dragic finished with 24 points and six assists, going 5-for-10 from beyond the arc. Adebayo added 22 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, while Herro scored 20 off the bench.

The Heat will look to close out the series on Monday in Game 4, which is scheduled for 6:30 PM ET.

"We know what Game 4 is about," McMillan said. "We're down 3-0 and it's win or go home. As I told our guys, we're not dead. We showed this second half what we're capable of doing, but we've got to put together that type of intensity, that type of belief for 48 minutes."

Brogdon is the first Pacer in NBA franchise history to score 30 or more points and dish out 10 or more assists in a playoff game. Brogdon's 14 assists are tied for the third-most by a Pacer in an NBA playoff game and the most since Mark Jackson had 14 on May 8, 2000.

Turner recorded his first career postseason double-double on Saturday in his 25th career playoff game.

The Heat went 11-for-20 from 3-point range in the first half, but just 2-for-12 over the final two quarters.

Indiana outscored Miami 22-7 in fastbreak points in Game 3.

The Heat attempted 24 more free throws and scored 22 more points than Indiana at the free throw line. Miami went 43-for-52 from the charity stripe, while the Pacers were 21-for-28 from the foul line. The Heat's 52 free throws were five shy of the most ever by a Pacers opponent in the playoffs (the Lakers attempted 57 foul shots in Game 2 of the 2000 NBA Finals).

"We definitely figured something out today that second half. That's what we've been trying to figure out and execute for the last three games...We'll carry that into the next game and keep going at them." -Brogdon

"I feel like we got some great looks, including myself. Two in-and-outs down the stretch. That's tough, man." -Oladipo

"We give up 11 threes in the first half. The keys to this game was to take their airspace away and keep them off the free throw line. We didn't do that in this game." -McMillan

"There's definitely a discrepancy out there with how many free throws they shot versus us...whatever it is, that has to change." -Brogdon

The Heat scored 74 points in the first half on Saturday, by far the most points the Pacers have allowed in the first half this season. The previous high by an Indiana opponent was 66 points, a mark set by the Trail Blazers in Portland on Jan. 26.

The Pacers and Heat will meet again in Game 4 on Monday, Aug. 24 at 6:30 PM ET. That game will be broadcast locally on FOX Sports Indiana and nationally on TNT.