Pacers pound Heat

Jermaine O’Neal posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds while Troy Murphy chipped in 11 points for the Pacers, who are fighting for one of the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. They had dropped 13 of 14 before this much-needed win.

The Pacers fell into a virtual tie with Orlando for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference. Indiana is a half-game ahead of ninth seed New Jersey.

Shaquille O’Neal had 13 points for Miami, which had won 10 of 11 heading into this contest. No other teammate finished in double figures, however. The Heat remained a half-game behind Washington for first place in the Southeast Division.

"Tonight we put together a great defensive effort," Granger said. "We were helping each other out on Shaq."

Indiana jumped all over the Heat, riding Dunleavy’s 15-point first-quarter performance to establish a 33-9 advantage.

The key was a 15-0 surge to turn a seven-point lead into a commanding 29-7 advantage. Dunleavy had a pair of three- pointers in the run, which O’Neal capped with a jumper with 3:41 on the clock.

The Pacers shot 71 percent over the first 12 minutes, compared to 17 percent for the opposition.

"We just did not bring anything at all to the game and with their sense of urgency, the game was really over in the first quarter," Heat head coach Pat Riley said.

Miami gained its composure in the second frame, and outscored Indiana 23-19 to make it 52-32 at the break.

The hole was just too great out of which to climb, though.

The Heat were able to trim their deficit to 15 following Shaq’s hook shot with 8:13 to play in the third, but Indiana countered immediately with an 11-1 run to push it to 70-45.

The home team finished the third up 72-49, and cruised to the finish line.

Game Notes

Miami’s Alonzo Mourning (knee) did not play in this game...Miami is 14-19 away from South Beach this season...Jamaal Tinsley had eight assists for the Pacers.