MIAMI (AP) — Malcolm Brogdon scored 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting and the Indiana Pacers beat the Miami Heat 137-110 Friday night.
The Pacers, who had lost eight of their last 10, were never threatened after building a double-digit lead late in the second quarter. Indiana finished with its highest scoring total ever against Miami, including the playoffs — topping the previous high of 127 in 1992.
“The aggressive mode that the team was in, when they attacked they were relentless,” Indiana coach Nate Bjorkgren said. “I was pleased with the sharing but more pleased with the defensive end. I thought the communication and talking was very good on the defensive end, especially in the second half.”
Domantas Sabonis had 13 points and 15 rebounds and T.J. McConnell finished with 16 points and 15 assists for the Pacers. Doug McDermott and Justin Holiday added 17 points each. The Pacers shot 20-of-36 on 3-pointers and Brogdon tied a career high with seven.
“We’ve got to keep our foot on the gas this game to the next,” Brogdon said. “We can’t expect for the next game to go exactly how this game went. It’s going to be a different game, a different story But we have to continue to do the things we did well tonight.”
Bam Adebayo scored 20 points and Jimmy Butler added 17 for Miami, which has lost two straight after winning 11 of 13.
“We weren’t as active or as disruptive as we normally are,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “But they were running it down our throats in the first half, so we weren’t even able to get our defense set. Got them into a great offensive rhythm, really attacking us.”
Miami had limited seven of its last eight opponents to under 100 points until Indiana’s scoring barrage.
We just lost two games,” Adebayo said. “We’re OK. We’re going to figure it out.”
Trevor Ariza was scorelesss in his Heat debut. Ariza joined the 10th team of his 17-year NBA career after Miami acquired the 35-year-old forward from Oklahoma City in exchange for Meyers Leonard and a 2027 second round pick Wednesday.
TIP-INS
Pacers: Jeremy Lamb scored 12 points after sitting out the last three games because of left knee soreness. … An 8-0 run to start the second half solidified the Pacers’ double-digit lead.
Heat: Udonis Haslem (contact tracing issues) and Avery Bradley (calf) were out. ... Miami swept Indiana in last season’s opening playoff round and this was the first meeting between the clubs this season.
FOURTH QUARTER TURNAROUND:
The Pacers had been outscored 168-114 in the fourth quarter of their previous five games. Any plans Miami had of continuing the trend was stifled as Indiana closed strongly with a 38-28 advantage in the fourth quarter.
MINI-SERIES
This was the start of the ninth mini-series for the Heat this season; they have swept one, been swept in two and split the other five so far. Miami has two more of the back-to-backs against the same opponent remaining, with Chicago on April 24 and 26 and Boston on May 9 and 11. It’s the fourth and final such series for Indiana, which has split its first three.
“We’re super excited about this win obviously, we know they’ll adjust on Sunday,” McDermott said. “But I think we just carry over some confidence, especially on the defensive end of the floor. When you can do it against a team that was in the finals last year, it can do a lot for your confidence moving forward.
SPOELSTRA SPEAKS
Spoelstra, whose mother is from the Philippines, spoke out pregame on the nationwide spike of anti-Asian violence. “Look, I am Asian American. I’m proud to be Asian American. And seeing what’s happening, with another just outright form of racism and hatred, it really is sickening,” Spoelstra said. “It breaks my heart. It is despicable.”
UP NEXT
The teams meet again Sunday in Miami.
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