In what ended up being a high-scoring shootout, the Miami Heat outlasted the Indiana Pacers Thursday, 142-132. One of the main goals for the Heat was to score as many points as possible as the Pacers have the best offensive rating in the NBA, they did just that by scoring a season-high 142 points.
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra and star Jimmy Butler spoke after the game to talk about the game-plan they had Thursday night. A huge goal was to disrupt dynamic point guard Tyrese Haliburton from setting the pace for Indiana throughout the game. While that wasn't accomplished in the first half, the Heat turned it around in the final 24 minutes of regulation as Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints.
“It took us a long time, but yeah. They do that to everybody. So it's not exclusive to us and they keep you on your heels. They do everything at full speed, their processing speed, in particular Halliburton, seeing what your coverage is and then what are your weakness is, it's impressive,” Spoelstra said. “So you have to overcome that with multiple efforts, disruption, make them miss moments, scramble, and that's where we're at our best anyways. And you saw a lot of that in the fourth quarter.”
A season-best game for the Heat's Jimmy Butler
While they didn't maintain Haliburton in terms of his statistics as he scored a season-high 44 points and recorded 10 assists. 28 of those points came in the first half when the 23-year old set the pace, but on the other side of the coin, the Heat had a returning Jimmy Butler who missed the last two games with an ankle injury.
Butler scored a season-high 36 points and collected 10 rebounds in what was a signature, aggressive performance from the 34-year old. Spoelstra said that the way Butler played is “part of his genius” and that his performance in the second half guided the rest of the team to the finish line.
“He felt it but, you know, that's part of his genius. Just whatever the game calls for and we have Bam out, we have Tyler out, you know, there's some different lineups out there. And he just felt it and then settled everybody with just all those attacks. I mean, it inspired the whole group and I think that inspired our defense to start making more efforts,” Spoelstra said. “You know, that third quarter was just really inspiring. Even those rebounds that he was getting in traffic, you know, just over the top of everybody. And, you know, the three point plays, And once we took the lead, I think it just gave the group confidence going into the fourth quarter and then that second unit again, just gave us a great boost.”
Besides Miami scoring a season-high 142 points in total, 45 of those came in the crucial fourth quarter. It's been a worrisome trend that the Heat play their worst basketball in the final period, but they rewrote history Thursday.
Butler likes a faster pace
When the second half came around, part of the Heat's halftime adjustments were to create their own pace and force Indiana to play by their rules. They did that and more, but it was a new experience for Butler. While they don't usually play at a fast pace like that, Butler said he likes the style.
“I mean, I can't speak for everybody, I speak for myself. I do like it. It's just freeform basketball. You got to make so many reads on the fly. But that's kind of like what today's game is anyways,” Butler said. “It shows that we are capable of playing like that, but that's definitely not our style of basketball. But a win is a win, so I guess we got to start playing faster.”
Butler made nine of his 18 shot attempts, but his biggest impact came at the charity stripe where he sunk in 18 of 20 free throws. The Heat's success against the Pacers can also be contributed to five other players besides Butler scoring in double-digits.
Butler gives credit to the Pacers' Haliburton
Haliburton was the obvious target for Miami as Butler acknowledged how impactful of a player he can be. He said to ClutchPoints that there's “nothing” the Pacers guard can't do.
“He be hooping. He plays Incredible basketball and he makes all the right plays over and over and over again. There's nothing that he can't do on the floor. He passes the ball well, shoots the three ball well, gets to the paint and finishes well,” Butler said. “Obviously, he's a big reason why they're winning so many games. He's gonna keep doing it, man. He's gonna make sure that they continue.”
The three-game losing streak for the Heat is shattered and now they look for two straight wins as they get Indiana again this Saturday. They're currently 11-8 on the season which puts them at sixth in the Eastern Conference moving past the Pacers at seventh.
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