Pacers' bench carries win over Heat

[November 17, 2018]  Cory Joseph led a dominant bench effort as the host Indiana Pacers defeated the Miami Heat 99-91 on Friday night.

Evans scored 23 points and added 10 rebounds, both season highs. Sabonis added 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Joseph had 12 points, five assists and three steals. Sabonis has six double-doubles this season -- two of them against Miami.

Indiana's reserves outscored Miami's bench 53-27, which helped the Pacers overcome an off night by All-Star shooting guard Victor Oladipo, who entered the game as the NBA's 14th-best scorer this season.

Oladipo was held to a season-low eight points on 3-for-12 shooting. His 13-game streak of scoring 20 or more points was snapped. Perhaps recognizing he was missing his shots, Oladipo dished out five assists.

Bojan Bogdanovich led Indiana's starters with 16 points. Starting center Myles Turner added 12 points and three blocks.

Miami was led by shooting guard Josh Richardson, who made 7 of 10 3-pointers and had a game-high 28 points. His seven 3-pointers tied a career high.

Heat center Hassan Whiteside had 12 points, 17 rebounds and two blocks. It was his sixth straight double-double. He is fifth in the NBA this season with 11 double-doubles.

Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who is on paternity leave, missed his sixth straight game.

Turner and Whiteside played to a first-period stalemate -- eight points and two blocks for each. But the Heat led 27-18 after the first 12 minutes because of its defense, holding Indiana to 26.1-percent shooting. Oladipo was held scoreless, missing all four of his shots.

Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis (11) celebrates a made three point basket in the second quarter against the Miami Heat at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

However, Indiana's bench led a 29-5 second-quarter run, and the Pacers went into the break with a 50-43 lead. While Oladipo had just two points on 1-of-6 shooting at the half, Indiana's bench outscored Miami's reserves 31-12.

Miami cut its deficit slightly to 72-67 after three quarters. Miami closed the quarter on a 9-2 run, a spurt that coincided with the Heat resorting to a zone defense.

The Heat further closed its deficit to 92-89 with 1:27 left in the game on a Richardson 3-pointer. But Indiana held on as Oladipo made a big 3-pointer, and Evans hit four free throws down the stretch.

--Field Level Media

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