Heat at Pacers
THE STORY: The Miami Heat attempt to finish off a four-game season sweep of the Indiana Pacers on Monday. Miami won the first two meetings by a combined 50 points before needing overtime to record a two-point victory earlier this month. Indiana blew a 14-point first-half lead in the March 10 meeting. The Pacers played one of their top games of the season in routing the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, while Miami lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, SunSports (Heat), FS Indiana (Pacers)
ABOUT THE HEAT (35-12): Miami had a four-game winning streak snapped while losing by 16 points to Oklahoma City. The Heat committed 21 turnovers and fell to 15-10 on the road. Miami is 1-1 during a stretch where five of six games are away from home and coach Erik Spoelstra is looking for a turnaround over the next week. “We’ve been disappointed in our play on the road in general since the All-Star break,” Spoelstra said. The Heat have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference behind the Chicago Bulls.
ABOUT THE PACERS (28-19): Indiana notched a season-high for points in the 125-104 road victory over the Bucks. The Pacers scored at least 28 points in each quarter and committed only 10 turnovers in what was their third game in three nights. Indiana has won three of its last four games and is in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. If the Pacers can hold on to or improve their positioning, then they can avoid facing Miami in a first-round playoff series. Indiana is 14-7 at home.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Miami has won four straight road games against Indiana after winning only five of the previous 39 meetings.
2. Heat forward LeBron James is averaging 27.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 8.0 assists against Indiana this season.
3. Pacers guard George Hill scored a season-high 24 points against Milwaukee after totaling only eight points over the previous two games.