Heat 89, Pacers 87
Luol Deng went 9-of-13 from the field and made all three of his 3-point attempts en route to 23 points as Miami held off a late rally to hand visiting Indiana its seventh straight loss.
Chris Bosh contributed 19 points and Dwyane Wade chipped in with 13 for the Heat, who almost let a 20-point lead slip away in the second half. Mario Chalmers had nine points, including a big basket in the final minute, and Chris Andersen added a season-high 13 rebounds for Miami.
Luis Scola led the way with 14 points and C.J. Watson recorded 13 for the Pacers, but missed a corner jumper at the buzzer that could have sent the game to overtime. George Hill returned after missing the last 11 games with a groin injury to score 13 while David West added 12 points and nine boards for Indiana.
Two straight baskets by Scola capped a 9-0 run to end the third quarter and pull the Pacers within 11, and they whittled down to 84-80 after a West basket with 2:57 to go. Indiana was within one before Chalmers’ twisting layup with 52.4 seconds left, Hill answered with a layup and Wade made one foul shot with 6.9 ticks remaining to set up Watson’s last chance.
The Heat led by eight after one quarter and Shabazz Napier’s 3-pointer ignited an 11-0 burst early in the second that increased their advantage to 37-20. Bosh finished with 15 points while Miami shot 57.9 percent from the field and forced 14 turnovers in the opening half to lead by as many as 21 before settling for a 54-37 edge at intermission.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Bosh pulled within six points of 16,000 in his career. … Indiana SG C.J. Miles scored eight points in seven minutes of action before suffering a sore left groin and did not return. … Miami C Hassan Whiteside (ankle) was active, but did not play.