Heat-Pacers Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Mar 26 2012 12:53AM

The Miami Heat were sloppy in a humbling loss to a fellow elite team. They figure to get back on track quickly the way LeBron James has played during a win streak over the Indiana Pacers.

James and the Heat conclude a three-game trip Monday night as they look to defeat the Pacers for the sixth straight time.

Miami (35-12) failed a major test Sunday, falling 103-87 at Oklahoma City as its four-game win streak was snapped. The Thunder shot 52.7 percent - the highest mark allowed by the Heat in their last 26 games in Miami's worst loss of the season.

"They jumped us, everybody saw it, they had us on their heels and they were the aggressors," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Even when we were able to crawl back into the game, they were able to play to more of their identity than we were and they were much more physical and forceful."

Dwyane Wade led Miami with 22 points and James had 17 points and seven assists, but the stars combined for 10 turnovers. Oklahoma City scored 28 points off 21 turnovers.

"Some of them were attack turnovers, some of them were careless turnovers," James said. "We started the game with a turnover. From there on, we turned the ball over, gave up was it 21 turnovers for 28 points on someone else's home floor, you're never going to win a game like that."

The two-time league MVP has been nothing short of sensational during the five-game run over Indiana (28-19), averaging 30.2 points and 7.4 assists. His assist-to-turnover ratio in three victories this season is three-to-one.

Miami's defense has been outstanding against Indiana leading scorer Danny Granger, averaging 9.3 points on 29.4 percent shooting in the season series.

The Heat have outrebounded the Pacers by an average margin of 10.3 boards, but Spoelstra expects a tough contest Monday.

"We've got a plane ride tonight and have to get prepared for another physical team that'll challenge us on their home court in the same manner," Spoelstra said.

Pacers coach Frank Vogel was beaming with pride for how physical his team was in Saturday's 125-104 rout at Milwaukee. Indiana held a 49-25 advantage on the glass and attempted 39 free throws.

"We want to be a smash-mouth basketball team, which for us is to play a power post game, pound it inside and live at the free throw line," Vogel said. "We don't always execute that identity, but tonight we did."

George Hill led Indiana with 24 points, Roy Hibbert had 16 and Granger and David West each chipped in with 15.

Reserve forward Tyler Hansbrough was set to get an X-ray on his cheekbone after Milwaukee's Mike Dunleavy was assessed a Flagrant-1 foul for a hard knock that sent Hansbrough to the floor. Hansbrough did return after the fourth-quarter incident.

"Whatever happened, I was upset," Hansbrough said. "I'm just upset because I got fouled pretty hard. Stuff like that happens."

The Heat have won four straight in Indiana to improve to 9-34 there all-time.

Granger scores 25 as Pacers beat Heat 105-90

By CLIFF BRUNT
Posted Mar 26 2012 11:25PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Welcome to the spotlight, Indiana Pacers.

While the Dwight Howard contract saga in Orlando, the emergence of Jeremy Lin in New York and team success in Chicago and Miami grabbed attention in the Eastern Conference, Indiana quietly became one of the best teams in the league.

The Pacers needed something bigger than just being steady to awaken the basketball world, and they got the signature win they have sought since the All-Star break, beating the Miami Heat 105-90 on Monday night.

"Our guys had a determination that they weren't going to be denied tonight," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. "We're competing at a high level. We're looking forward to making a serious run at the end of the season and be one of the hottest teams going into the playoffs."

Danny Granger scored 25 points, Darren Collison scored 20, and Paul George added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who have won four of five.

"It's a confidence builder, showing that if we play the right way, believe in each other, play team defense, that we can be one heck of a team," Pacers guard George Hill said. "Anytime that you get a win like this, you have to build off of it."

LeBron James had 24 points and nine rebounds, and Dwyane Wade had 24 points and six assists for Miami. The Heat, coming off a 103-87 loss at Oklahoma City on Sunday night, lost by double digits in back-to-back games for the first time this season.

"Sometimes, you go through these spells in an NBA season and it's a struggle," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Miami committed 17 turnovers.

"Some of the turnovers you can live with," James said. "We're attacking, and guys are trying to make a winning play. But some of the ones where you're just careless, you don't like those turnovers. I know I had a few careless ones tonight."

Miami (35-13) lost for the fourth time in eight games overall and is running out of time to catch Chicago (40-10) for the best record in the East. The Heat were outrebounded 49-33 and scored just four fast break points.

The Heat refused to make a big deal about the losses.

"We're fine," forward Chris Bosh said. "We're not even going to remember this a month from now, two months from now. We'll be playing our best basketball. All we can do is learn from our experiences right now and just try to get back on time and everything will take care of itself."

The Heat had won the previous three meetings this season, but the Pacers played with confidence throughout. Indiana led by double digits for most of the fourth quarter, and Pacers fans stood and showed their appreciation during the final minute.

The Pacers closed the first half out in style. First, Indiana center Roy Hibbert dunked on James with a minute left in the half, then George hit a half-court shot at the buzzer to give the Pacers a 49-46 lead at the break.

"I knew that the time was closing," George said. "I just wanted to put it up there and I just got lucky with a prayer. That was a big shot. You go in with momentum off that shot alone. It was very fortunate that I knocked that down."

A two-handed breakaway jam by Collison early in the third pushed Indiana's lead to 53-46 and forced Miami to call a timeout. George hit a 3-pointer to push the lead to double digits for the first time. The Pacers held Miami scoreless for the first 3 minutes of the second half.

James scored and was fouled, missed the free throw, tracked down the rebound and made a jumper to cut Indiana's lead to 59-55. Wade followed with a 3-pointer, and suddenly, Indiana's 10-point lead was down to one.

But the Pacers responded quickly. Hibbert stuffed James, and Granger hit a jumper at the other end to give Indiana a 67-60 lead and force another Miami timeout. Granger's 3-pointer gave Indiana a 71-60 lead. The Pacers held Miami to 6-for-19 shooting in the third quarter to lead 78-65 at the end of the period.

James rested at the start of the fourth quarter, leaving Wade and Bosh to try to close the gap. But two 3s by Indiana's Leandro Barbosa early in the period helped the Pacers maintain some distance. A three-point play by Barbosa gave the Pacers an 87-73 edge. Barbosa scored nine points in 98 seconds and forced the Heat to put James back into the game.

Indiana remained comfortably ahead the rest of the way. Granger was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws to push Indiana's lead to 99-87 with 4:30 to play.

"We're trusting each other a lot more, we're holding each other more accountable, we're actually out there having fun," Hill said. "I think in earlier games we weren't trusting each other, playing selfish basketball, wasn't playing solid defense, and anytime you do that you're going to lose against a great team like Miami. We showed them that we can be a great team also, and we're going to try to be a better team on the court by communicating and playing together."

Notes: Indiana G Dahntay Jones was issued a flagrant foul for hitting James in the head on a shot attempt. ... Pacers F Jeff Foster announced before the game that he would retire because of back issues. The team showed a highlight video of his 13-year career during a break in the action during the second quarter. He received a standing ovation. ... A basket by Indiana F David West in the second quarter was taken off the board minutes later because officials reviewed it and determined that it came after the shot clock went off. ... Wade got his 600th career block in the first half. He had four blocks in the game.

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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cliffbruntap

Notebook: Pacers 105, Heat 90

Posted Monday March 26, 2012 11:34PM

By Conrad Brunner, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Two teams in need of something collided Monday in Indianapolis. The Pacers emerged with a confidence-building victory. Miami exited with another troubling road loss. Danny Granger scored a game-high 25 and Darren Collison 20 as Indiana led most of the way in rolling to a 105-90 victory over the Heat before 17,415 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana won its second in a row and fourth in five games since acquiring Leandro Barbosa at the trade deadline, improving to 29-19 overall and 15-7 at home. Miami dropped its second game in as many nights and fell to 35-13 overall, 15-11 on the road. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade each scored 24 for the Heat, but neither was a factor down the stretch.

QUOTABLE: "You learn lessons by competing even if you don't win sometimes. Our guys had a determination that they weren't going to be denied tonight."
- Indiana head coach Frank Vogel.

THE STAT: This was the eighth time this season all five Indiana starters scored in double figures. The Pacers are 7-1 in those games.

TURNING POINT: The Pacers had all the momentum entering the second half, as Paul George hit a 39-foot 3-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer and then another early in the third quarter to cap a 14-2 run that put the home team up 56-46. James and Wade quickly silenced the crowd, scoring nine in a row -- including a four-point play when James missed a free-throw on an and-one but chased down the rebound and scored -- to cut the lead to 59-58. The crowd might've been thinking "here we go again" but the Pacers were not. Collison and Granger combined for 10 points in a 12-2 counter that pushed the lead to 71-65 and Miami got no closer than nine the rest of the way.

QUOTABLE II: "Not only was it a big win for us, but it shows us that not only can we play with them, but we can beat them. We must build on this and continue to show what we did tonight."
- George.

HOT: Collison was electrifying, constantly beating Miami's transition defense at one end while disrupting the offense with aggressive ball pressure at the other. He also shot well, hitting 7-of-12, adding four steals, three rebounds and three assists to his 20 points. George had his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while David West also had a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards.

NOT: James shot 9-of-21 and committed six turnovers. Chris Bosh had two rebounds and four turnovers and point guard Mario Chalmers had three turnovers and one assist.

QUOTABLE III: "They're a team that's getting better. They made a lot of moves in the offseason and it takes time for that to come together. We've played them four times, so they've had a chance to figure us out. And you figure that they're going to get us one of those times. They play physical all the time."
-- Wade.

GOOD MOVE: Vogel has been questioned about his decision to stick with Collison as the starting point guard, particularly in light of the solid play of backup George Hill, but the coach's faith was rewarded. Collison was the most influential player on the court at both ends.

BAD MOVE: Rather than moving on from Sunday's 103-87 loss to Oklahoma City, Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra couldn't resist the teaching moment, spending a large part of Monday's preparation time going over the mistakes from the previous game rather than preparing for the Pacers.

NOTABLE: Miami has dropped six of eight on the road. ... In its last nine wins, Indiana has outrebounded opponents by 9.1 per game, including 49-33 tonight. ... Dahntay Jones picked up an early flagrant foul in the first quarter against James. It was just the second of the season called on a Pacers player. ... A video tribute to Jeff Foster drew a standing ovation from the crowd during a second quarter timeout. Foster was forced to retire last week due to chronic back problems. ... Tyler Hansbrough was wearing a mask to protect a broken nose and cheekbone. The injuries were the result of an elbow to the face by former teammate Mike Dunleavy Saturday in Milwaukee. ... Both teams wore Hardwood Classics ABA throwback uniforms, with the Heat representing the Miami Floridians.

UP NEXT: For the Pacers, Wednesday @ New Jersey vs. Washington, Saturday @ San Antonio. For the Heat, Thursday vs. Dallas, Friday @ Toronto, Sunday @ Boston.

• Heat: Harris, Miller
• Pacers: Fesenko, Foster

• Heat: --
• Pacers: Vogel

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 9

• Arena: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #14 Ed Malloy, #66 Haywoode Workman, #59 Gary Zielinski
• Attendance: 17415
• Duration: 2:18