Game Recap
Victor Oladipo struggled throughout most of Friday night's game against the Miami Heat. He scored a season-low eight points and was just 2-for-11 from the field with 1:26 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Indiana was scuffling as well, having seen a 15-point lead whittled down to three over the past seven minutes, and looked in danger of letting a win slip away.
But in a timeout, Pacers head coach Nate McMillan drew up a play for his All-Star guard. Oladipo went to his left around a screen from Domantas Sabonis and when Heat forward Rodney McGruder got caught in the screen and center Hassan Whiteside failed to step up to guard him, Oladipo pulled up and drained a game-saving 3-pointer with 1:16 remaining.
The sellout crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse let out a collective sigh of relief, as the Pacers (9-6) grinded out a 99-91 win over Miami (6-9) in their first game back after a four-day hiatus.
"You get me open, I'm going to make the shot," Oladipo said. "It was a great screen by (Sabonis), a great play by Coach. To trust me even when I've had a bad night at that moment, it just shows the trust that my teammates and my coaching staff have in me."
The storyline the rest of the night was the play of Indiana's bench, which picked up Oladipo on the way to victory.
Tyreke Evans led Indiana with a season-high 23 points, going 5-for-7 from 3-point range, and pulled down a season-best 10 rebounds for his first double-double in a Pacers uniform.
The Philadelphia native, Indiana's marquee free agent signing over the offseason, said he had a conversation with McMillan prior to the game where he encouraged him to get back to his roots.
"He just told me to play like I'm in Philly, just be aggressive," Evans said. "That's what I did. I wasn't thinking, second-guessing. Just taking my shots and taking what the defense gives me."
Fellow reserve Sabonis added 15 points and 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season as the Pacers knocked off Miami for the second time in a week.
The Heat got off to a fast start, connecting on six of their first seven attempts.
After early buckets by Bojan Bogdanovic and Myles Turner, the Pacers went cold for the remainder of the first quarter. Indiana was just 7-for-25 from the field with five turnovers in the frame, falling into a 27-18 hole.
The Blue & Gold finally found a rhythm to start the second quarter with a lineup that featured Thaddeus Young and four reserves.
The Pacers scored on their first four possessions of the period — including three baskets by Cory Joseph — as they opened the quarter with a 10-2 run. Soon thereafter, Sabonis' three-point play with 7:24 left in the half gave the hosts the lead for the first time since the opening minutes.
That was just part of what wound up being a 16-0 run by the Pacers, with eight points coming from Evans, as Indiana opened up a 44-32 lead.
"I think it was our defense," Joseph said. "We were getting a lot of deflections and were able to get out and run. I think our team is (at our) best when we do that."
Miami managed to chip five points off that margin by the time the halftime buzzer sounded, making it a 50-43 game at the break.
The Heat kept chipping away in the third quarter, where Josh Richardson's three with 5:36 left in the frame made it a three-point game. Indiana responded by reeling off nine unanswered points to push the lead back to double digits, only to have Miami respond with a 9-0 run of its own.
Joseph then hit a jumper with 12.5 seconds left in the quarter to give the home team a 72-67 lead heading into the fourth.
Just like they did in the second quarter, the Pacers opened the final frame with four reserves and one starter, this time with Bogdanovic instead of Young. And once again, they delivered, starting the period with a 14-4 run to push the lead to 15 points.
The Heat slowly fought back once again, with Richardson knocking down his seventh three of the night to make it a 92-89 game with 1:26 remaining.
But Oladipo's shot on the ensuing possession stopped the bleeding for the Pacers and put the game on ice.
Bogdanovic led Pacers starters with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and six rebounds. Turner added 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three blocks, while Joseph chipped in 12 points and five assists.
Richardson led all scorers with 28 points in the loss, going 7-for-10 from beyond the arc. Whiteside added 12 points and 17 rebounds for Miami.
The Pacers return to action on Saturday night for a rare home back-to-back. They will welcome the Atlanta Hawks to The Fieldhouse at 7:00 PM ET.
Photo Credit: NBAE/Getty Images
Inside the Numbers
Prior to Friday, Oladipo had scored 20 or more points in 13 consecutive contests. His only other game this season in which he failed to score 20 points was in a blowout win over Memphis in the season opener, when he finished with 16 points in 26 minutes.
Sabonis has now had three double-doubles over his last four games.
Joseph scored 10 of his 12 points in the second quarter, where he went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from 3-point range.
With Evans leading the way, the Pacers went 14-for-27 (51.9 percent from 3-point range). It was their most threes made in a game since Oct. 24, when they had a season-high 17 3-pointers in a win in San Antonio.
Richardson matched his career high with seven 3-pointers on Friday.
Whiteside collected his sixth straight double-double. He has had at least 10 rebounds in all but one game this season.
You Can Quote Me On That
"Really what I wanted him to do was relax and not think too much out on the floor. I kind of felt like he was robotic out there. We talk about ball movement, so he went out and was moving the ball." -McMillan on his message to Evans
"I think our goal as a second unit is to always come out and bring energy. Bring energy, be aggressive in transition and just push the ball." -Sabonis
"Ultimate confidence. He has confidence in himself. He’s been making that shot for us for a year now. We don’t expect anything less from him." -Joseph on Oladipo's late three
"You’ve got to credit their defense. They protect the paint extremely well, they’re physical. We had some opportunities there, point blank ones. I don’t know how they didn’t drop." -Heat coach Erik Spoelstra
"We just forgot how to play there for a little bit. Everything was falling for them and they were attacking us, and we just weren’t retaliating fast enough." -Richardson on what happened in the second quarter
Stat of the Night
The Pacers' bench outscored Miami's reserves 53-27 on Friday night.
Noteworthy
- The Pacers, who also won in Miami last Friday, have clinched the season series with the Heat. The two teams meet once again in Miami on Feb. 2.
- Indiana debuted its Hickory uniforms on Friday. Muncie Central High School, winners of a record eight Indiana high school boys state championships, was honored at halftime.
- 12-time All-Star Dwyane Wade missed Friday's game on paternity leave after the birth of his daughter. Wade announced that he will retire after this season and will likely not play another game at The Fieldhouse unless the Pacers and Heat meet in the playoffs.
Up Next
The Pacers will be back on the floor at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday, Nov. 17 to host Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks. Find Tickets »
Special Offer - Pacers Win
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