Game Rewind: Pacers 92, Heat 114

The Pacers had a chance to move into fourth place in the Eastern Conference on Monday night with a win over Miami, their most likely opponent in the first round of the playoffs.

While "homecourt advantage" doesn't mean as much with all games being held inside the NBA bubble in Orlando, Monday's game was a good measuring stick for Indiana to see how it matches up with a potential first-round foe.

Despite a poor shooting percentage, the Pacers hung tough for two quarters. But the Heat (44-27) blew the game open with a dominant third quarter and cruised to a 114-92 win.

Victor Oladipo led Indiana with 14 points and five rebounds in the loss. Malcolm Brogdon added 12 points, eight boards, and six assists.

"Just one of those games, unfortunately," Oladipo said after the loss. "We couldn't really get anything going. Just live and you learn. We'll be seeing those guys probably a lot in the next couple weeks, so we've got to be ready."

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The Pacers got off to a sluggish start, opening the night 2-for-13 from the field with five turnovers as Miami jumped out to a 21-9 lead.

Indiana's second unit provided a spark late in the frame. T.J. McConnell drove into the lane and converted a floater while drawing a foul, then Justin Holiday drained a 3-pointer and hit two free throws on the next two possessions to cap an 8-0 run by the Blue & Gold. Kelly Olynyk made a pair of free throws for Miami, but Edmond Sumner answered with a layup just before the buzzer to trim the Heat's lead to 23-19 entering the second quarter.

The Pacers' reserves briefly tied the game at 23 just 30 seconds into the next frame, but Miami regained the lead on Derrick Jones Jr.'s dunk on the next possession. The Heat remained in front for most of the quarter, stretching their lead as high as seven points.

After starting the game 2-for-7 from the field, T.J. Warren found a bit of a rhythm late in the first half, hitting two 3-pointers and then converting a layup off a backdoor cut to tie the game at 44 with two minutes remaining.

Oladipo then hit a three in transition at 1:17 to give the Pacers their first lead of the night. Bam Adebayo scored with 33.9 seconds left and then after an Oladipo miss, Myles Turner fouled Jimmy Butler. The five-time All-Star made both foul shots with 16.1 seconds remaining. Brogdon split a pair of foul shots on the other end to send the game to the break tied at 48.

Miami opened the second half with back-to-back threes by Duncan Robinson and Jae Crowder. It only got worse from there, as the Heat continued to build their lead throughout the third quarter, pushing it as high as 18.

Robinson scored 11 points and Butler added nine as Miami hit six 3-pointers and outscored Indiana 37-23 in the frame to take an 85-71 lead into the fourth.

Jones scored eight points as the Heat opened the final frame with a 10-4 run to push their lead to 20 points. The Pacers never threatened down the stretch as both coaches emptied their benches with several minutes to spare.

"You've got to play a 48-minute game," Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said. "The intensity level out there, I thought they won that tonight. We got off to a slow start in that third quarter and they pretty much just took over that game."

Warren, who entered Monday averaging 34.8 points over five games in Orlando, scored 12 points in the first half but none after halftime against Miami. He finished the night 5-for-14 from the field and 2-for-6 from 3-point range.

"They had a good little plan off of ball screens," Warren said of Miami's defense on him. "We've got to make adjustments as a team. We had good looks, we just didn't make them tonight. We can't hang our heads."

Butler led the Heat with 19 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and three steals. He went just 5-for-13 from the field, but 9-for-11 from the free throw line.

Jones added 18 points off the bench on 9-of-11 shooting, while fellow reserve Tyler Herro tallied 17. Crowder added 14 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, while Robinson scored 14 while going 4-for-10 from 3-point range. Adebayo added 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.

This will not be the last time the Pacers and Heat meet before the playoffs. The Pacers return to action on Wednesday afternoon against Houston before closing out the regular season with another game against Miami on Friday.

The Pacers shot 39.3 percent from the floor on Monday, just the seventh time this season they have failed to make 40 percent of their attempts.

Indiana committed 17 turnovers, leading to 19 points for Miami. After averaging nine turnovers over their first three games in Orlando, the Pacers have had 52 giveaways over their last three contests.

Oladipo led the Pacers in scoring for the first time in 18 games this season.

Crowder continued his streaky shooting on Monday, going 4-for-6 from 3-point range. The eight-year veteran is a career 33.9 percent 3-point shooter, but entered Monday's contest making 44.1 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc in 18 games since being traded to Miami from Memphis on Feb. 6.

"They put a lot of speed out on the floor and they play both ends of the floor with a lot of urgency." -McMillan on Miami

"They play well together, they're well coached, they do a great job spacing the floor. They do a great job getting to their spots doing what they want. They execute really well, they defend really well. They're a great team." -Oladipo

"They're a very well coached team. They came out as the aggressor and they made shots. For us, we can't worry about that. It's just one game. Got to get ready for the next." -Warren

Miami outscored Indiana 68-44 in the second half, shooting 55.1 percent over the final two quarters while holding Indiana to a .364 field goal percentage.

The Pacers take on James Harden and the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Aug. 12 at 4:00 PM ET.