Robinson shoots Heat past Pacers for 2-0 lead

[August 21, 2020]  Duncan Robinson tied a franchise postseason record with seven 3-pointers in just his second career playoff game Thursday afternoon, helping the Miami Heat take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers with a 109-100 victory at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando.

Robinson finished with a game-high 24 points, Goran Dragic added 20 and Jimmy Butler had 18 in a balanced attack that allowed the fifth-seeded Heat to successfully follow up on Tuesday's 113-101 triumph in the series opener.

Victor Oladipo, playing two days after suffering an eye injury that required brief hospitalization, paced fourth-seeded Indiana with 22 points.

Game 3 is slated for Saturday.

Indiana led by five points and Miami by no more than nine in a tightly contested first half that ended with the Heat clinging to a 51-46 advantage.

But Miami gradually pulled away in the third quarter, with Robinson playing a leading role.

The second-year forward, who tied for third in the NBA with 270 3-pointers made during the regular season, hit three in the third period as the Heat ran off to as many as a 16-point lead.

Jae Crowder chipped in with a pair of 3-pointers and Tyler Herro added a sixth for the Heat in the decisive run.

The Pacers got no closer than seven in the final quarter.

Robinson shot 7-for-8 from beyond the arc, the seven threes tying Damon Jones in 2005 and Mike Miller in 2012 for the franchise record.

Herro connected on three 3-pointers, while Dragic, Butler and Crowder added a pair apiece for the Heat, who shot 18-for-35 from deep -- setting a franchise postseason record for made threes -- and outscored the Pacers 54-36 from behind the arc.

Heat's Jimmy Butler picks up the loose ball as teammate Jae Crowder (99) and Indiana Pacers' JaKarr Sampson (14) battle for the ball during the first half in an NBA basketball first round playoff game of the 2020 NBA playoffs at The Field House. Mandatory Credit: Ashley Landis/Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports

Herro finished with 15 points, while Crowder totaled 10 and a team-high eight rebounds for Miami. Butler also found time for seven rebounds and a team-high-tying six assists.

Myles Turner and Malcolm Brogdon backed Oladipo with 17 apiece for the Pacers, while All-Bubble first-teamer T.J. Warren was limited to 14 points, missing all five of his 3-point attempts.

The entire Indiana starting five scored in double figures, with Aaron Holiday adding 12 points.

Turner tied Crowder for game-high rebounding honors with eight, while Brogdon accumulated a game-high nine assists.

--Field Level Media

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