Pacers at Heat
The two best teams in the Eastern Conference are struggling down the stretch, but one of them moves closer to claiming the top seed in the East when the Indiana Pacers visit the Miami Heat on Friday. Indiana holds a half-game edge over Miami entering the clash and a victory would reduce its magic number to one for clinching the No. 1 spot. The Pacers are just 8-12 over their past 20 games while the Heat is in the midst of a 10-11 stretch.
Miami could be without guard Dwyane Wade (hamstring) for the ninth straight contest and frontcourt reserve Chris Andersen (knee) also could be on the sidelines for the third time in four games. Forward LeBron James is much more concerned with the health of his club than landing the top seed in the East. “It’s not controlling our destiny about the No. 1 seed,” James told reporters. “We want to get healthy. That’s all that we care about, going into the postseason healthy. … Once everyone comes back, then we can get everything rolling.” Indiana rested its entire starting five while posting a 104-102 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Indiana, Sun Sports (Miami)
ABOUT THE PACERS (54-25): Indiana’s ragged play reached a low point when it was crushed by the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday for its seventh loss in nine games. Seeing a tired and lackluster group led to coach Frank Vogel benching all five starters against the Bucks, which allowed key players like Paul George, David West and Roy Hibbert to get some much-needed rest. The Pacers were able to notch a victory courtesy of Chris Copeland’s game-winning shot with 1.2 seconds left. “We needed this to get a little confidence to feel better about ourselves,” veteran forward Luis Scola told reporters. “Start to get some rhythm back and we needed a win.”
ABOUT THE HEAT (53-25): Miami knows there is an advantage to gaining the No. 1 seed after being taken to seven games by the Pacers in last season’s Eastern Conference playoffs before prevailing at home. The Heat see Indiana as a threat and would feel much more comfortable if they win this showdown and overtake the Pacers for the top spot. “It’s going to be intense,” Heat center Chris Bosh said. “It’s going to be a hard-fought game. There’s something at stake. It will pretty much be the playoffs and I think it will be a great atmosphere. We expect them at their best.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Pacers have won two of this season’s three meetings, including an 84-83 victory on March 26.
2. Heat G Ray Allen is averaging just six points over the last two outings.
3. Indiana is 36-4 this season when recording 20 or more assists.