Coach Nate McMillan got exactly what he wanted in Game 4 from the Indiana Pacers.
“We have to believe. The first quarter will be very important for both teams. For Miami, they will try to make a statement right from the start. We have to do the same thing, “he said before the tip.” The goal for us will be to win that first quarter, to show that we are here to play and here to try and win this match. “
They led the Miami Heat 22-21, a notable improvement at the start in Game 3, but still ended up losing 99-87 and wiped out the first round for the second consecutive year on Monday. It was the Pacers’ ninth consecutive playoff defeat.
The Heat, winners of 7 of 8 matchups that includes the regular season, got the better of Orlando with Jimmy Butler limited due to a strained left shoulder.
After Malcolm Brogdon’s 4-point game brought the Pacers to 76-71, they revealed themselves similar to how they had in previous games in the series with the result close at hand. Down 91-85 after TJ Warren’s 4-point play, the Pacers conceded 3 offensive rebounds and Tyler Herro left him to deflate a comeback.
Victor Oladipo (25 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals) and Myles Turner (22 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks) had their best performances but had no other constant help outside the starters. Warren (21 points) and Brogdon (13 points, 7 assists) contributed mostly in the second half when Indiana fell behind.
Backcourt Brogdon-Oladipo won as many first-round games as last-season starters Darren Collison and Wes Matthews when they met Boston.
The Heats were limited outside the arc where they hurt the Pacers so badly, making only 8 of 30. After going to the foul line 52 times in Game 3, the Heats were 11 of 14.
Goran Dragic (23 points) led them with Herro (16 points) and Bam Adebayo (14 points, 19 rebounds, 6 assists). Kelly Olynyk (11 points) did all of her damage in the first half along with Jae Crowder (10 points).
Butler (6 points) only played 23 minutes but broke the defense in the fourth final which resulted in turnovers from Indiana.
>> McMillan insisted that he would not walk away from Turner when he had favorable matches in the post. When Adebayo left, Turner started the second quarter with second unit and went to Olynyk and Derrick Jones for easy buckets. It went fast. His teammates resisted the blows in the jump and waited for him to do one more aggressive to make himself available. He scored 11 in the first half and went to the foul line 6 times.
>> The second unit has changed. TJ McConnell didn’t play because he dropped out of rotation while Aaron Holiday and Edmond Sumner took those minutes even though neither scored. McConnell was guilty of overdribbling and his disputed mid-range was offensive. The Indiana bench scored 3 points on a 1 for 7 shot. The only result was Doug McDermott with a 3. The Heat had 41.
>> The Pacers made an effort to stop the 3, trading Turner and other bigs on screen shooters and handoffs instead of having them stay with Adebayo to prevent lobs and rely on guards to fight over the top to contest. Heat only shot 40 for 91.44%, but that strategy left the Pacers vulnerable on the scoreboards where they were beaten 60-34, allowing for 17 offensive rebounds and 50 points in the paint.
