Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The short-staffed Heat were too much for the struggling Pacers

What’s left of the Pacers stopped by Kaseya Center on the second night of a back-to-back for both squads, and the Heat overpowered them in the fourth quarter after surviving their offensive waves of desperation. Pascal Siakam was gutting everyone in front of him, but he slowed down when the schemes got tighter, and the home crew had a different body at every turn, raining baskets. 

It was their highest-scoring game in the lane this year (78) because the Pacers gave as much resistance as a silk vest against 12-gauge slugs. Somehow, the Heat, after winning only four of 12 nights in December, are only a game out of the fourth seed.

It’s not exactly a tune-up because Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro were out, but the Heat’s far more talented rotation puts the victory slightly a notch above. Still, those are the outings that build the crew’s confidence, and Nikola Jović badly needed it. 

He and Pelle Larsson dissected coverages for a combined 14 dimes against two giveaways. Andrew Wiggins and Jaime Jaquez Jr. lived in the lane, on cuts and drive-bys. Plus Kel’el Ware had another strong game starting, and was the icebreaker this time, making inside and outside shots. With his strong play, the team will be fine as Adebayo recovers from back soreness.  

They got back to gliding in transition while completing the strenuous task of negating Indiana’s attack. Seventeen offensive rebounds also led to the Heat taking 14 extra shots. Their best defensive work came in the fourth quarter, holding them to 22 points on 37.5% shooting.

Jaquez attributed the team getting back to the principles applied since training camp, which they got away from when losing eight of nine games.

Their record in back-to-backs is 6-4. They also improved to 6-0 in games scoring at least 140 points (142-116).

 It’s no surprise that they are as sharp as a spear when they take quick shots while the ball is flowing. Their issue is not being consistent enough to break from the mid-level to the upper tier. Perhaps they can if they get more of the assertive Wiggins, who had 28 points on 75% shooting. He won’t always put up those numbers, but coach Erik Spoelstra believes they are a better outfit with him in attack mode.