Pacers Continue Mastery of Heat

The Indiana Pacers continue to do things the hard way.

For the second straight game, the Pacers trailed by double-digits in the second half. This time, they rallied to defeat Miami, 95-90, on Wednesday night, their 14th victory in their last 15 regular-season meetings with the Heat.

Ron Artest led Indiana with 24 points and eight rebounds, and Jermaine O’Neal added 17 points and eight rebounds.

Dwyane Wade led Miami with 29 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, but he tied a career high with 10 turnovers.

Miami led, 54-52, at halftime and had increased the margin to 69-58 in the third quarter when Udonis Haslem was called for a technical foul. The Pacers outscored the Heat, 18-3, the rest of the period to take a 76-72 lead.

The Pacers trailed Philadelphia by 20 points in the third quarter of a 111-109 loss on Saturday.

“Everybody’s still trying to find their way right now,” O’Neal said. “When teams get in their formats, we’re going to be in trouble if we don’t get focused. Hopefully, when they get to that point, we’re rolling.”

Miami had a chance to tie but Antoine Walker missed a three-point attempt with seven seconds left. Indiana’s Stephen Jackson rebounded, was fouled, and made two free throws to seal the Pacers’ second win over the Heat in less than a week.