INDIANAPOLIS – In theory, this should have been the best version of the Miami Heat.
It was anything but.
With Erik Spoelstra’s primary rotation whole for just the fourth time this season, what set up as a welcomed reunion became anything but.
Instead, a 123-99 loss Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to the NBA-worst Indiana Pacers.
With Spoelstra moving to a starting lineup seemingly as talented as any started by the team this season, the response was an early 25-point deficit and a rally that fell short to the degree that the bench was emptied with eight minutes remaining and the Heat down 25.
And this was supposed to be the easy part, with the Heat’s next four games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics and then Thunder again.
So make it two losses and a postponed game to start this trip, Thursday night’s two-hour delay before postponement at Chicago United Center no longer the most annoying aspect of the week away from Kaseya Center.
“It felt like emotionally, mentally, physically, we were really ramped up and ready to play in Chicago,” Spoelstra said. “Tonight, I don’t know if I had that feeling, particularly to start this game. And they made us pay for it.”
Tuesday night’s trip-opening loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves was one thing; the Timberwolves are contenders. The only thing the Pacers are contending for is the No. 1 pick in June’s draft.
“Everybody else is trying to figure out the consistency,” Spoelstra said of such a bad loss. “And we’re in that boat, too. We’re trying to figure it out.”
Tyler Herro led the Heat with 21 points in his return to the starting lineup, but there were just 13 points from Bam Adebayo and only six from Norman Powell, whose career-best streak of double-figure games ended at 35.
“I just think we didn’t come out fully ready to play,” Powell said, “and then just started snowballing after that.”
Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday night’s game:
1. Game flow: The Heat went down 24 early and trailed 36-18 after the first period, their second fewest points in a period this season. The deficit then stood at 61-45 at halftime.
“It started out with turnover, score, turnover, and then foul, foul, foul,” Spoelstra said of the outset. ” And then we were playing from behind and in the mud, you know, the rest of the way.”
The Heat then climbed within seven early in the third quarter, before it quickly went south again, falling behind by 29 in the quarter and going into the fourth down 99-72.
In many ways the tone was set at the outset, when Herro and Adebayo each airballed 3-point attempts.
As starting unit we had to come out with a better disposition, (0:19) better focus to get this team off to a good start.
“It’s unacceptable for all of us to be down 20 before the first time out,” Herro said.
2. Full house: With a full complement of rotation players, it led to adjustments beyond the starting lineup.
With Herro returning to the starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 9 after dealing with a toe contusion, a move into the starting lineup that was supposed to come in Thursday night’s postponed game in Chicago, Spoelstra rounded out his starting lineup with Powell, Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell.
Spoelstra then went with a bench cast of Jaime Jaquez Jr., Pelle Larsson, Nikola Jovic and Kel’el Ware.
The approach shuffled Dru Smith out of the mix until garbage time and left Kasparas Jakucionis and Simone Fontecchio out of the mix until the waning stages, as well.
“Forget about the starting lineup,” Spoelstra said. “It wasn’t like it got better when we went into the second unit. We were just on our heels the entire night.”
3. Drought from deep: The Heat opened 0 for 11 on 3-pointers, with their breakthrough from behind the arc not coming until Powell converted the Heat’s first 3-pointer with 10.3 seconds left in the half, ironically his 100th 3-pointer of the season.
That also was Powell’s first basket, after he opened 0 for 8 from the field. Powell was 1 of 6 on 3-pointers in the first half, Herro 0 for 3.
From there, bad went to worse. At one point midway through the third period, the Heat stood 2 of 19 on 3-pointers, while, at the same time, former Heat summer-league and G League prospect Micah Potter was 3 for 3 from beyond the arc.
“We got great looks,” Adebayo said. “We just missed them.”
Powell closed 2 of 12 from the field, 1 of 7 on 3-pointers, the Heat 4 of 30 as a team.
“Some of those were makeable shots,” Spoelstra said. “But guys were not in rhythm for sure. And then it just snowballed from there.”
4. Herro ball: Herro had his moments offensively, up to 19 points by the end of the third period. But that also included 1-of-7 3-point shooting to that stage.
He closed 8 of 19 from the field, including 1 of 8 on 3-pointers, although he did add seven rebounds and four assists.
The Heat were outscored by 14 during his minutes.
“I think we just got to keep working at it,” Herro said of the lineup change that got him back in the first unit. “It’s only our third or fourth game, I believe, as a full unit. We all want to make it work, we just got to make it work.”
5. Lots of Thunder: The Heat not only get the unenviable task of having to play the second night of this back-to-back set on Sunday against the rested Thunder, but it will be one of two games this week against the defending NBA champions.
In addition to Sunday’s game at Paycom Center against the league-leading 32-7 Thunder, the Heat will host the Thunder on Saturday night at Kaseya Center.
The Heat have been swept 2-0 by the Thunder each of the past two seasons.
While the Thunder sat reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (ankle) and emerging big man Chet Holmgren (shin) in Friday night’s 117-116 victory in Memphis, neither is on Oklahoma City’s injury report for Sunday, with only center Isaiah Hartenstein (leg), among rotation players, listed as out.
“Hopefully we can stay healthy and get through this bump and get back to winning some games,” Adebayo said.