Andrew Wiggins and Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 28 points each to lead a short-handed Heat team to a 142-116 win over the Pacers, turning what was a tight game into a blowout with a 44-22 fourth quarter.

The Pacers have lost eight straight to fall to 6-26, holding the worst record in the NBA. The seventh-place Heat — who were playing without Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro — have won two straight to improve to 17-15.

Guard Norman Powell added 23 points for the Heat. Forward Nikola Jovic had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Forward Pelle Larsson had 16 points and seven assists and former IU center Kel’el Ware had 15 points and seven rebounds. Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 33 points. Swingman Bennedict Mathurin had 13 points and guard Andrew Nembhard had 15 points and 16 assists.

Pacers turnovers, second-half defense ruin strong shooting night

The Pacers had one of their best shooting nights this season, knocking down 49.5% of their field goals — their fifth best mark of the season — and stroking 12 3-pointers. They got excellent performances from their star players and solid outings from some of their younger ones. For three quarters they were in a dog fight in a game that included 19 lead changes and 12 ties.

But the Pacers could never take control because of turnovers and their defense disintegrated in the game’s second half as they were outscored 83-56, 44-22 in the fourth quarter, allowing their most second-half points of the season

The Pacers turned the ball over 26 times, which dug into their offensive efficiency as they finished with 1.04 points per possession because of so many empty tries. The Heat turned those giveaways into 38 points while the Pacers scored just 19 off turnovers. The Heat also outscored the Pacers 30-14 on fastbreak points.

The transition buckets were just part of the Pacers’ defensive breakdowns, especially in the second half. The Heat shot 31 of 53 from the floor (58.5%) after the break. They posted 1.37 points per possession in the third quarter and 1.64 in the fourth quarter when they were 18 of 27 from the floor

The Heat did much of their damage going to the basket. They finished with 78 points in the paint on 39 of 65 shooting in the lane. Forty-four of the 78 points came in the second half as they made 22 of 34 field goals in the lane then.

“A lot of good things for three quarters, then rough ending to the third and then the fourth was obviously very poor,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said in a short press conference broadcast on Fan Duel Sports Network Indiana. “We gotta do better. … It’s a 48-minute game and we have to do better at putting together 48 minutes.”

Pascal Siakam brilliant in the first, slowed in the second

Pascal Siakam has been one of the most frustrated players in the NBA this season, putting together one of the best seasons of his career while trying to drag an injury-ravaged team through a miserable year. On multiple occasions this week, it has bubbled over as he told reporters of his frustrations after Tuesday’s loss to the Bucks and seemed to strongly consider throwing the ball to the ceiling in Friday’s loss to Boston.

In Saturday’s first half, Siakam managed to channel his frustration into brilliance as he made 10 of 13 field goals for 24 points, hitting a shot just before the buzzer that gave the Pacers a 60-59 lead. He got a lot of his work done in the mid-range as usual with spin moves out of post ups, but he also hit on 4 of 5 3-pointers.

In the second half, however, the Heat did what most Pacers opponents do — threw zones and double teams at Siakam to get the ball out of his hands. Siakam had nine points on 4 of 8 shooting and dished out four assists to finish with 33 points on 14 of 21 shooting. However, he finished with five turnovers and him slowing down made it harder for the Pacers to keep pace. Bennedict Mathurin scored 23 of his 25 points after the break and Andrew Nembhard scored 13 of his 15 in the second half, but that still wasn’t enough.

Aaron Nesmith returns, plays like himself

Aaron Nesmith returned to the floor after six weeks out with a sprained left MCL in his knee and looked more like himself than he did in the first 11 games of this season.

Prior to his injury, Nesmith had to do more creating off the bounce than usual because the Pacers played most of those games without Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell or Bennedict Mathurin. McConnell was out on Saturday with right hamstring soreness, but with Nembhard, Mathurin, Pascal Siakam and Quenton Jackson doing work off the dribble, Nesmith was able to get catch-and-shoot 3-point opportunities and bring hustle on the defensive end.

Nesmith scored nine points on 3 of 9 shooting with all of those buckets being catch-and-shoot 3s. He grabbed five rebounds and showed a lot of fight going after loose balls. The Pacers have desperately needed more fire and fight from their players and they can trust Nesmith to bring that.

In his first game back he played 19 minutes but was -26 in his time on the floor.

“It was good to have Aaron back,” Carlisle said. “I thought he did a lot of good things. Moved well, made some shots. Those were all positives.”

Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.