Heat at Pacers
Miami begins a road-heavy portion of its schedule Wednesday in Indiana, which might be a good thing for the struggling Heat. Despite 25 points from Dwyane Wade and 20 from Chris Bosh in his return from a calf injury, Miami dropped a 102-101 decision at home against Orlando on Monday, wrapping up a dismal 2-5 homestand that also featured losses to Utah and Philadelphia. "You’ve got to win those games, especially at home," Wade told reporters Monday.
The Heat, who play 15 of their next 21 games on the road, have won two straight and three of their last four away from home and enter this one 5-4 in road games against Eastern Conference opponents. Indiana had won three of four before a furious fourth-quarter rally fell short in a 92-90 home loss to Chicago on Monday. Chris Copeland scored 17 points in only 18 minutes off the bench as the Pacers lost their fourth straight game decided by three points or fewer.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Miami), FSN Midwest (Indiana)
ABOUT THE HEAT (14-18): Bosh, who missed eight games with the injury, was 8-of-17 from the floor while grabbing eight rebounds in 33 minutes of action against the Magic, and he doesn't expect any issues going forward. "I worked hard with the trainers to make sure when I came back my legs were in good condition," Bosh told the Miami Herald. "It went better than I thought." Bosh was limited to a season-low nine points on 3-of-13 shooting in an 81-75 loss to Indiana at home on Nov. 12.
ABOUT THE PACERS (11-21): Indiana's bench entered Tuesday ranked third in the league in scoring (40.4) but the team was 28th (94.5) overall, an indication that the starting five is not always carrying its weight. That was the case against the Bulls, as the Pacers' reserves outscored their starters 48-42, including all of the team's points in the fourth quarter, which Indiana won by a 25-11 margin. George Hill was the only starter to appear in the final period, and he played for less than two minutes.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pacers C Roy Hibbert had 16 points and a season-high 15 rebounds in the win over Miami last month, but has been limited to six points in each of his last two games.
2. Wade is averaging 26 points while making 22-of-24 free throws in four games since sitting out a contest with a knee contusion.
3. Miami is 24th in the NBA in foul shooting (73.3 percent) and Indiana is 25th (72.9).