Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat couldn’t overcome a poor first half in the late surge, falling to Pacers in Indiana

A shining opportunity presented itself for the Heat- momentarily claiming the sixth seed in Indiana- but the crew arrived unprepared, and its protections were as soft as cotton candy half of the match, permitting easy access into the lane and giving up the top of the key. And then its efforts were insufficient in the end. Barring some metamorphosis or black magic ritual, the Play-In Tournament is inevitable for the Heat.

For the millionth time, TJ McConnell channeled John Stockton, castigating the Heatles in transition, pick and roll plus isolating Tyler Herro for a fadeaway jumper and baseline drive.

Myles Turner outplayed Bam Adebayo.

Duncan Robinson and Terry Rozier did a lot of running.

At halftime, the Heat was down 46-63. The squad had 20 paint points, two on the break, two via second chances, four after turnovers and 17 from the bench.

On the other side, the Pacers supplied 32 interior points, four on the break, nine on extra tries, four after turnovers and 25 from the reserves.

And of course, the Heat didn’t get its act together until a spurt midway through the third quarter, pulling the group within nine points as Butler swished a corner tray in Pascal Siakam’s face, canned three freebies and hunted down Andrew Nembhard in the post, nailing a turnaround jumper.

And there was a late chance.

The visitors entered the fourth quarter down 13 points. Next, Nikola Jović drew a 3-point foul on Siakam, slicing the deficit to seven and cutting it to six a minute later with a banger in the corner off Butler’s drive and kick. On the succeeding play, Butler pedaled to the rim in transition, making a left-handed scoop.

An Indiana turnover followed, giving the Heat the possession back, and the unit called timeout. Then Caleb Martin hit a jumper inside the nail against Siakam in drop coverage. Yet, Haliburton countered, striking the rim on a right-side drive set up by a horns action.

With 2:40 left, Jović missed up close, initiating a fastbreak that Butler fouled Aaron Nesmith on, sending him to the line. Coach Erik Spoelstra challenged that call unsuccessfully.

But Herro gave the unit an adrenaline shot in the veins, getting fouled by Siakam on a right-wing 3-point attempt. The hosts unsuccessfully challenged, but his three free throws put the Heat down two.

The Pacers called its last timeout, but Adebayo fouled Turner after the catch. Turner made both freebies.

In response, Herro cashed a triple in transition off a handoff from Butler against Siakam up top.

Subsequently, Nesmith was intentionally fouled by Herro, and he put the Pacers ahead by three.

The Pacers wouldn’t let the Heat have a chance to tie, so they purposely fouled Herro with 6.6 seconds left. He made the first, intentionally missed the last, but stepped inside the line too quickly before the ball hit the rim.

Curtains.

The Heat finished with 42 paint points, six on the break, four via second chances, six after turnovers and 46 from the bench.

Butler produced 27 points on seven of 16 ventures, with seven rebounds, eight assists and one steal. Adebayo had 20 points on 44.4% accuracy, with 12 boards and three dimes. Martin tallied 20 marks on 10 shots and recovered three rebounds and two assists. And Jović put up 18 points on six of 10 attempts, with two rebounds.

The Pacers had 58 interior points, six in the open court, 11 on extra tries, nine after turnovers and 39 from the reserves.

Turner had 22 points on six of 12 tries, with 13 rebounds, two assists and two blocks. McConnell dispensed 22 points, making 78.6% of his shots, with five assists. And Siakam had 18 points and eight rebounds.

Postgame, Spoelstra was asked about the first-half struggles. He said, “[The Pacers] definitely were the assertive ones… it has to be every single possession, obviously, and that’s what’s disappointing because we have great habits of playing consistently and doing it hard.”

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