Heat lose to Indiana, 113-107 in overtime.
Loss to Pacers drops team into 8th place
INDIANAPOLIS — This time it was up to Miami Heat assistant coach Dan Craig to coordinate the drama, with coach Erik Spoelstra back in South Florida for the birth of his son.
Ultimately, the labor proved difficult — for the Heat — with the Indiana Pacers pulling away in overtime for a 113-107 victory Sunday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
In losing for the 11th time in their past 12 road games, the Heat fell to No. 8 in the Eastern Conference behind the Milwaukee Bucks, who defeated the San Antonio Spurs earlier in the day.
“We had our opportunity,” guard Goran Dragic said.
And, indeed, the Heat did, with forward James Johnson getting to the foul line with 7.1 seconds remaining in regulation and the Heat down one.
Johnson made the first free throw, but missed the second, with a wayward attempt by Indiana’s Victor Oladipo just before the final buzzer sending the game into overtime.
“I was confused,” Johnson said of when the second free throw did not drop. “I know what it feels like when I let it go and it felt good, it really did feel good and I thought we were just going to have to get back on defense and make one more big stop.”
Even before that trip to the line, Johnson was fouled with 14.7 seconds to play with the Heat down one, scoring on a spinning drive. The officials, however, said he was fouled before he gathered for his shot, nullifying the basket.
“We had our opportunity.” Goran Dragic, Heat guard