MIAMI – The Miami Heat made a case for Bam Adebayo as Defensive Player of the Year on Saturday night.
In his absence.
In a defenseless effort.
Unable to contain an Indiana Pacers offense lacking scoring and assist leader Tyrese Haliburton, the Heat fell 144-129 at Kaseya Center to close out a 1-2 homestand and fall to 11-9 at the season’s quarter pole.
“You have to credit Indiana,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, “You take out their best player, the guy who drives this offense, and they didn’t slow down one bit. And that was the part of the game we just never could get a handle on.”
The Pacers closed at .659 from the field, highest in a game by an opponent in the Heat’s 36 seasons, including 16-of-32 shooting on 3-pointers. Also included in Indiana’s effort were 76 points in the paint.
“They were putting their head down and getting wherever they wanted,” Heat guard Josh Richardson said.
The 144 points tie for the second-most ever against the Heat, topped only by 148 scored by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 17, 1991.
“They just attacked,” Heat forward Jimmy Butler said. “They attacked everybody.”
With Adebayo sidelined by a lingering hip bruise, the Heat seemingly offered a direct path to the rim, with the Pacers more than happy to take what was ceded.
The loss came even with Butler scoring 33 for the Heat, Caleb Martin 18, Duncan Robinson 17, Richardson 16 and Orlando Robinson 16.
Because this wasn’t about what the Heat could get on one end.
It’s what they gave up on the other.
Former University of Miami guard Bruce Brown led the Pacers with 30 points.
“They played their game,” Heat point guard Kyle Lowry said.
Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday night’s game:
1. Closing time: The Heat led 31-25 at the end of the opening period, went up 10 in the second period, with it then tied 65-65 at halftime. From there, the Pacers pushed to a 106-98 lead going into the fourth.
Butler returned earlier than usual in the fourth, entering with 9:03 to play and the Heat down 112-103, with the Pacers then pushing to their largest lead at 115-103. A 3-point play by Butler with 5:33 left got the Heat within 125-119.
But the Pacers simply continued to score at will from there to put it away.
“Whatever the situation was, we could not contain the ball off the dribble,” Spoelstra said. “If you score close to 130 points you’re not expecting the Miami Heat to lose.”
2. Alternative reality: With Adebayo sidelined by his ongoing hip issue, Orlando Robinson was given his second career NBA start, playing ahead of Thomas Bryant.
The Heat’s rotation grew further muddled when starting power forward Haywood Highsmith left for the locker room with 9:13 left in the opening period with a back spasm, replaced by Martin. Martin also started the second half in place of Highsmith.
Highsmith bruised his lower back in a hard fall the previous Saturday in Brooklyn, forced to then sit out Tuesday night’s loss to the visiting Milwaukee Bucks.
The Heat’s rotation was scrambled to the point of a lineup to start the second period of Orlando Robinson, Duncan Robinson, Jamal Cain, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Richardson.
3. Taking the third (and fourth): Butler for the second consecutive game took his game to another level in the third period, this time with 11 points and three assists in the quarter.
The problem this time was the Pacers were able to keep pace, outscoring the Heat 41-30 over the 12 minutes.
Without a defensive contribution from teammates in a quarter the Pacers shot 16 of 21, some of the best of Butler wasn’t nearly enough.
That meant short rest at the top of the fourth for Butler, and then asked for even more.
Butler scored 14 in the fourth, with even that not enough.
“We didn’t do our job tonight,” Butler said, “and we got to do something to fix it – very quickly.”
Of the Heat’s 11-9 record, Butler said, “We stand where we don’t want to be, which is very mediocre.”
4. Robinson’s reality: Duncan Robinson kept the Heat afloat early, and with more than his 3-point shooting.
Getting into the lane against the Pacers’ lacking offense, Robinson was up to 15 points at a stage no teammate had more than seven.
Robinson opened 6 of 8 from the field, including 2 of 3 on 3-pointers. He eventually fouled out, closing 7 of 11 from the field.
5. Pacers lacking: Two nights after scoring a career-high 44 points against the Heat, Haliburton missed the game due to illness. The Pacers entered 7-20 in games he had missed over his two seasons with the team.
Haliburton, who previously also had a 43-point game at Kaseya Center, was replaced in Indiana’s starting lineup by former University of Florida guard Andrew Nembhard, who finished with 11 assists.
Haliburton entered the weekend 11th in the NBA in scoring and first in assists.
