Heat grind to a halt in loss
As is too usual, give up double-digit advantage before falling again
INDIANAPOLIS — As Gertrude Stein once famously said of the 2018-19 Miami Heat, there is no there there.
In a performance as nondescript at much of this season so far, the Heat took an early doubledigit lead, gave it all up as if scripted, and then were unable to fully find their footing in falling 99-91 Friday night to the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Save for the 28 points from Josh Richardson and a too-late rally, there was little of note for the Heat, except for noting how the Pacers were able to feast on 19 Heat turnovers.
If it wasn’t center Hassan Whiteside missing from pointblank range on a 6-of-15 night, it was Justise Winslow going 1 of 5 from deep ... or Kelly Olynyk missing from everywhere on an 0-for-7 night.
And even with the Heat able to contain Victor Oladipo, there was ample Indiana support from Tyreke Evans, Domantas Sabonis, Bojan Bogdanovic and Cory Joseph.
The Heat moved within 92-89 with 1:26 to play on a Richardson 3-pointer, after previously trailing by as many as 15. Heat forward Kelly Olynyk works Friday night against Pacers forward Thaddeus Young.
From there, the Pacers got a 3-pointer from Oladipo with 1:15 to play to move ahead 95-89. Unable to get a good shot -- typical of the overall offensive struggles -- the Heat then went deep into the shot clock before a wayward jumper by Tyler Johnson effectively ended it.
The loss was the Heat’s seventh in their last 10 games, with a showdown with LeBron James and the Lakers up next on Sunday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Five degrees of Heat from Friday’s game:
1. Second thoughts: The Pacers outscored the Heat 29-5 at the start of the second quarter and closed the period with a 32-16 advantage in moving to a 50-43 halftime lead.
The Heat offense was so out of sync in quarter that Erik Spoelstra twice called timeouts during possessions, with the Heat then returning with a turnover
after the first timeout and a missed shot after the second.
Part of the problem was the Heat pump faking away from good shots into forced attempts at the end of the shot clock. The half ended with the Heat unable to get up a shot on a possession that began with 15 seconds to play.
The Heat shot 5 of 22 in the second quarter, with the Pacers 11 of 20.
Tyler Johnson was minus-21 in the period, playing just 6:47.
2. Creative void: For all the structure that the Heat pride themselves in, creativity against quality defenses such as Indiana’s also is essential.
With the Pacers deftly playing passing lanes, it is where the eccentricities of James Johnson and Dion Waiters could come in handy, or the guile of Dwyane Wade.
Waiters and Johnson did not travel, working back from surgeries, yet to play this season, with Wade in California following the
birth of his daughter.
Beyond Goran Dragic, the current roster does not evoke much in the way of style points.
While the points came freely during the Heat’s high-pace games earlier in the season, it is the grind games such as Friday’s where individual support often matters most.
3. Getting his: Richardson has reached the level of reliability, particularly with the 3-point stroke that helped the Heat stay competitive going into the fourth.
He no longer is an accidental scorer, but one confident to quick step in 3-pointers or probe the defense for shots closer to the rim when catching opposing big men out of position.
Richardson was 5 of 8 on 3-pointers at one stage of the third quarter when Justise Winslow and Wayne Ellington both stood 1 of 5 from beyond the arc.
A third-quarter 3-pointer by Richardson was the 300th of his career,
moving him into 11th place on the Heat’s all-time list.
He closed 10 of 16 from the field and 7 of 10 on 3-pointers.
4. Turnover terror: It has been the talk of the rough patches and yet it continues unabated: The Heat cannot avoid turnovers.
They were back in abundance Friday, with about the only saving grace being Indiana’s re-gifting on the other end. And this hardly was a frenetic pace.
5. The Sabonis factor: After the Heat had fought back within three in the third period, the Pacers began to work their offense through backup big man Domantas Sabonis.
The Heat lacked an answer for Sabonis’ scoring, passing and rebounding. He closed with 15 points and 12 rebonds.