Heat send Pacers to fourth straight defeat / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports Credit Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Lowry scored 26 points and dished out nine assists and Duncan Robinson broke out of his shooting slump as the Miami Heat rolled to a 113-104 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night at Indianapolis.

Player of the Game EFF 20 Duncan Robinson Points 24 Accuracy 7-11 Rebounds 2 Assists 1

Indiana, which has lost four consecutive games, was led by Caris LeVert, who had 27 points. Pacers center Myles Turner had 20 points and three blocks, and teammate Domantas Sabonis had a game-high 16 rebounds to go with 14 points.

Sabonis did not start and it was uncertain if he would play because he was tending to a family matter, according to multiple media reports.

Miami, which had lost three of its previous four games, also got 18 points from Tyler Herro.

The Heat was playing without two of their top three scorers -- Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.

However, Robinson followed up his scoreless 0-for-7 shooting performance on Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers with 24 points on Friday. Robinson shot 7 of 11 from the floor, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

Butler is day-to-day with a bruised tailbone that has caused him to miss three straight games. Adebayo is expected to miss six weeks after he has wrist surgery this weekend.

Miami, which led by as many as 13 points early, settled for a 32-25 advantage after one quarter.

Robinson made 4 of 5 shots, including 3 of 4 from long distance, for his breakout, 14-point first quarter. Otherwise, things were fairly even as both teams shot 57.9 percent from the floor in the opening 12 minutes.

The teams played even in the second quarter, leaving Miami with a 62-55 lead at halftime. The big difference in the first half was that Miami shot 9 of 20 from beyond the 3-point arc while Indiana hit 4 of 12.

Lowry led all first-half scorers with 20 points. LeVert was next with 18.

Turner kept the Pacers in the game with 11 third-quarter points, but Miami still went into the fourth with a 92-81 advantage.

Miami then pulled away in the fourth quarter.

For the game, the Heat shot 53.1 percent from the floor, including 16-for-34 on 3-point attempts (47.1 percent). Miami also had a 50-38 lead in points in the paint.

Indiana shot 43.8 percent from the floor, including 9-for-36 from beyond the arc (25 percent).

Support BasketNews so we could make even better content.