BUENA VISTA LAKE, Florida (AP) – Jimmy Butler returned from a foot injury and scored 19 points, Derrick Jones scored 18 off the Miami bench, and the Heat largely kept TJ Warren in check on their way to a 114-92 win over the Pacers on Monday night.
Miami moved a game ahead of Indiana in the run for the No. 4 in the Eastern Conference. The Heat (44-27) and Pacers (43-28) both have two games left, and Philadelphia’s sixth-placed (42-28) ends his regular season with three games in four days starting Tuesday.
Tyler Herro scored 17 points while Duncan Robinson and Jae Crowder each added 14 for Miami, who snapped a slide of two games. The Heat took control forever in the third quarter, opening what was a tied game with a 35-17 run.
Goran Dragic scored 11 and Bam Adebayo added 10 for Miami.
Warren scored 12 for Indiana out of 5 for 14 shots in 29 minutes. He arrived on Monday averaging 34.8 points per game at the top of the bubble with 61% shots from the field, 56% 3-point shots, but he never threw himself into Butler and the Heat.
Victor Oladipo scored 14 and Malcolm Brogdon added 12 for Indiana.
The Heat have tie-breaks on both Indiana and Philadelphia, so another Miami win would lock up a spot in the # 1 series. 4 against n. 5 which will start early next week.
The teams will play again on Friday in the final seeding for both teams and could meet in the opening round of the playoffs starting next week, increasing the possibility that Miami and Indiana can face each other up to nine times in a span of 10 games. .
It was the first club meeting since January 8, a game in Indiana where Butler and Warren’s individual match stole the show.
What happened that night, in seven seconds in court, has been under discussion for seven months since then. Warren grabbed Butler’s arm during a drive in the middle of the third quarter and each player’s reaction led to technical doubles. Butler fouled Warren on the next possession, Warren taunted him with some cheers after the call and was sent off.
Butler threw him kisses, Warren offered an obscene gesture in response and both players were fined.
“It’s not about Jimmy and TJ,” Pacers manager Nate McMillan said. “It’s about Miami and Indiana.”
Butler may have taken it personally anyway. He guarded Warren for 25 possessions Monday; Warren only scored two of 1 points for 3 rounds during those trips.
