Pascal Siakam scores 30 points to give Pacers 135-118 victory that adds to Heat’s struggles

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored 30 points and Micah Potter added 21 and tied a career high with five 3-pointers to help the Indiana Pacers get past the Miami Heat for a rare victory, 135-118 on Sunday.

Siakam also had 11 rebounds and six assists for short-handed Indiana. Potter scored 19 points and made all of his 3s as part of a flurry of 13 first half 3-pointers for the Pacers. Kobe Brown was one of five other Indiana players to score in double figures. He had a career-high 18 points as Indiana won for just the second time since the All-Star break.

The Pacers finished with 18 3s in their 17th win, matching Brooklyn and Washington for the fewest victories in the NBA this season.

Miami’s loss was yet another potentially damaging blow to its fading hopes of avoiding the play-in tournament and earning a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Heat have lost seven of their last eight games.

Tyler Herro scored 23 of his 31 points in the first half and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 17 for the Heat. All-Star Bam Adebayo finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Indiana finally took control of the fast-paced, high-scoring contest with two late runs after Brown’s 3 with 4 seconds left in the third quarter gave the Pacers a 108-107 lead. Miami scored four straight early in the fourth to take a 111-110 lead, but Indiana answered with an 11-2 run to make it 121-113 before closing the game on a 14-3 spurt to close it out.

Miami played without guard Norman Powell, who sat out because of an upper respiratory infection.

Up next

Heat: Open a three-game homestand Monday against Philadelphia.

Pacers: Visit Chicago on Wednesday, the start of a three-game road trip.

___ AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba