Myles Turner and the rest of the Indiana Pacers shot themselves in the foot with a horrible fourth-quarter meltdown against the Miami Heat. The Pacers blew a 13-point lead in the opening half and were eventually outscored and outhustled in the second half with the Heat slowly inching their way en route to a disappointing 92-87 loss. With the game hanging in the balance, the Pacers choked in the fourth quarter and Miami's suffocating obviously didn't help their cause.
“We were out of rhythm,” the Pacer center said with regards to the game's last 12 minutes (via J. Michael of Indy Star). “That defense was designed to disrupt offenses.”
Turner on the 4th qtr meltdown: "We were out of rhythm. That defense was designed to disrupt offenses." #PacersHeat
— J. Michael (@ThisIsJMichael) April 1, 2021
The flow was indeed disrupted in the fourth quarter as Jimmy Butler and the rest of the defending Eastern Conference champs locked in defensively. The Heat limited the Pacers to just five points in the game's last six minutes which ultimately cost the game for Indiana. Miami shut down the usual suspects for the Pacers with Turner finishing with 15 points and six boards while Domantas Sabonis only contributed nine points on 4-8 shooting.
According to Turner, it was all about effort and, clearly, they were outdone by the Heat in that regard.
“Our style of defense is just fine. It's all effort,” Turner added. “I don't think the system is to blame whatsoever.”
Turner: "Our style of defense is just fine. It's all effort… I don't think the system is to blame whatsoever." #PacersHeat
— J. Michael (@ThisIsJMichael) April 1, 2021
It does seem that it's been all about the lack of effort for this Pacers squad as of late. This second straight loss of Indiana is their seventh loss in their last eight home stands.
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