The Heat Fend Off Brogdon: Pacers vs. Heat Game Three (August 22, 2020)
The Miami Heat faced off against the Indiana Pacers in game three of their first round matchup. Miami looked to go up 3-0, while the Pacers tried to get things back on track.
This is a very even matchup on paper, but the big difference is the elevated offense of the Heat. Their ability to move the ball and get three point shooters open is almost unmatched and that offense was on full display early on. Resident flamethrower Duncan Robinson (15 pts, 2-4 from three) nailed his first three and Goran Dragic (24 pts, 6 ast, 3 stl) nailed his first two deep balls as well. Indiana was looking outmatched in the first.
Victor Oladipo (20 pts, 4 reb) looked to pick the Pacers up and keep them in the game. With some help from Bubble Jesus TJ Warren (23 pts, 6 reb, 5 stl), they were managing to keep the game close. They were struggling to contain the barrage of offensive weapons Miami was attacking with, but their own offense was finally clicking a little bit.
As the Heat went into a bit of a cold streak, the Pacers were able to close the gap. The game was super close throughout despite Miami looking like the better team. Oladipo and Warren were doing a really good job of keeping Indiana in it, as Malcolm Brogdon (34 pts, 7 reb, 14 ast, 2 stl) also contributed all over the stat sheet.
Tyler Herro (20 pts, 3 reb, 3-6 from three) came in as his usual spark off the bench, and Dragic continued to dominate for the Heat. However, Nate McMillan was throwing a variety of different defenders at them. Guys like JaKarr Sampson (2 pts, 3 reb) and Justin Holiday (9 pts, 3 reb), who got the start in this one, were hustling all over the place and providing some energy for the Pacers.
Though the Heat were still red hot on offense, the plan of putting in J. Holiday to elevate the defense was going okay. You could tell that he was making an impact on that end as the Pacers desperately tried to close out on Miami’s many sharpshooters. The only issue was that Miami was still making a lot of them.
Their ball movement was too much for one guy to deal with. It would have to be a team effort from Indiana, and the rest of the squad was failing to get any contest on a lot of Miami’s shots. The passing of the Heat was just amazing to watch.
Watching Robinson shoot makes you do one of those “exhale laughs” every time you see it. He has the green light to take some ridiculous shots and they just go in. I can’t explain it. One of my personal favorite players to watch in the league.
The Heat have to be the best team in the NBA at just playing basketball. As weird as that sounds, let me explain. Yes the Lakers, Bucks, Clippers, and others have better records, but that’s just because of their superstars. Miami has Jimmy Butler (27 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), sure, but as a whole they’re exactly what you want from a basketball team. They have amazing ball movement, near perfect team defense, and a whole army of elite three point shooters. They were rolling through the Pacers in the second, as Indiana simply couldn’t keep up.
The all around play of the Heat led to them being up big going into the locker room. Indiana found themselves in a 74-56 hole, with no answer for Miami’s amazing offense.
I think it was Brian Anderson who said it right after halftime - “McMillan [was] coaching too much [for] intensity and not enough X’s and O’s.” While the Pacers were playing with super great energy, they just weren’t getting to the right spots on either end. There’s only so much they could do against the Heat who were on fire from deep, but they had to get some better plays drawn up; or at least do a better job at executing the plays they were running.
That being said, Indiana was doing a solid job on defense to start the third. They began chasing Miami’s shooters off of the three point line more effectively, and it was leading to stops. Those stops then led to some offense, and just like that the Pacers were back in the game.
Myles Turner (15 pts, 12 reb, 3 blk) was having a huge impact in the third quarter for Indiana. His ability to block shots was super helpful, per usual, but the one place he contributed where he doesn’t usually was on the glass. He’s not known as a great rebounder, but in this one he was all over the boards helping out. The second chance points he was earning helped fueled the Pacers’ comeback attempt.
Brogdon and Dragic were the stars of the game, although Brogdon definitely had the bigger impact. Dragic was an important scorer for Miami, but Brogdon was giving a little bit of everything. He already had 10 dimes through three quarters, and was also leading the team in scoring.
Buckets were coming from everywhere as both teams had five guys scoring in the double digits through three. Team basketball is a huge identity of both of these squads, and this game was the perfect example of that.
Indiana had all the momentum going at the end of three. McMillan won a huge challenge that could have swung the momentum in the complete other direction. Turner went to the line and only made one of his free throws, but it must have been a huge boost for the Pacers. They managed to cut Miami’s lead down to only four points by the fourth.
Bam Adebayo (22 pts, 11 reb, 5 ast) was one of those players who did a bunch of the little things this game. He wasn’t scoring an excessive amount, but his presence alone opened up Miami’s offense. HIs quickness for a center also helped him while attacking, which was especially effective once Turner went to the bench.
Indiana was counting on Brogdon to lead their comeback late in the game, and he was doing a pretty solid job. Oladipo came back in and tried to help out, but he was playing with five fouls. Things were close as the game started to wind down.
Butler, though he was having a tough nice shooting the ball, was doing so much for the Heat late. He got to the line a few times and was constantly a thorn in the side of Indiana. His mere presence on the court was an energy boost for Miami, and his defense was elite per usual.
Brogdon’s hot hand consistently kept Indiana within a couple points of the Heat. He nailed a huge three near the end of the game to bring them within two. The Pacers played great defense on the other end the next play, but two big offensive rebounds from Adebayo killed the momentum a little bit.
With under a minute left on the clock the Pacers had the ball down by four. They ran an out of bounds play but something went horribly wrong and it ended in a turnover. Oladipo fouled Butler out of frustration and that was six for him. A heartbreaking possession for the shorthanded Pacers.
The Pacers missed their next three point attempt a possession later, and all Miami had to do was make their free throws. They squeaked out a tough victory after dominating early on in this one.
The final score was 124-115, as the Heat took a huge 3-0 on the Pacers in this series. Game four takes place on Sunday, August 24th at 6:30 PM EST.
