Pacers Remain Alive In Eastern Conference Playoff Race, Cools Off Heat 105-85

If the Indiana Pacers want to remain relevant in the Eastern Conference playoff race, they are going to need forward Jermaine O’Neal to heal - and quick. Monday happened to be a fortunate day for the Pacers, as it marked the return of O’Neal to the lineup; however, it was a team effort that boosted Indiana to the easy win over the Miami Heat 105-85 at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Neither team did anything special or out of the ordinary - unless you consider Miami’s 85 points an achievement. Indiana led 59-52 early in the third quarter before Danny Granger made a 3-pointer and Jeff Foster made a jumper, giving the Pacers a 64-52 lead. Indiana’s O’Neal entered the game for the second time with 5:10 left in the third period and he helped the Pacers go into the fourth quarter with a 78-65 lead; Indiana managed to shoot 51% from the floor in the second half, enabling them to pull away.

Indiana’s leading scorer was Granger with 23 points, including 4 treys, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a block while Mike Dunleavy scored 18 with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Miami was led by Daequan Cook with 16 points, including four 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, a block, but 6 turnovers while Chris Quinn and Kasib Powell scored 15 each - with Quinn grabbing 4 rebounds, dishing out 6 assists along with 2 steals while Powell grabbed 2 rebounds, dished out an assist and also had a steal and a block. Indiana (31-43) now travels to Boston to take on the Celtics Wednesday while Miami (13-61) returns home to host the New Orleans Hornets - also on Wednesday.