NBA Game Summary - Indiana at Miami

Miami, FL (Basketball News) - Eddie Jones scored a team-high 17 points as Miami overcame an injury to All-Star center Shaquille O’Neal and snapped a season- high four-game losing streak with an 84-80 victory over Indiana at American Airlines Arena.

Jones also grabbed 10 rebounds for Miami, which played the second half without O’Neal. He went to the locker room with 43.7 seconds remaining in the first half with a right leg contusion.

The injury occurred when Indiana forward Jermaine O’Neal elevated for a layup and drove his knee into the thigh of Shaquille O’Neal, who was attempting to block the shot. Miami’s O’Neal had 11 points, three rebounds and a blocked shot in 17 minutes of action before exiting.

Although Shaquille O’Neal was visibly limping, the decision to hold him out could be precautionary, as Miami has already locked up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff standings.

Speaking of playoff implications, Indiana had already clinched a spot in the post-season, but the Pacers are jockeying for seeding position. They are currently sitting sixth in the East, two games behind fifth-place Washington and 1 1/2 games in front of seventh-place Philadelphia, which is scheduled to play this evening.

Damon Jones netted 16 points and hit a crucial three-pointer late, while Udonis Haslem contributed 12 points and 10 boards for the Heat, who beat the Pacers for the first time in 13 meetings.

"Miami has had some struggles as of late, so I know that it was a game that they wanted to win," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "It was a tough break when Shaq went out at halftime. They were able to keep it together and get it done. You have to give them a lot of credit, they made a lot of really good things happen. Damon Jones, who has hurt us all year, hurt us again."

Leading Indiana, which activated All-Star forward Jermaine O’Neal prior to the game, was Stephen Jackson with a game-high 21 points.

Less than a month after confirming he would miss the rest of the season with an injured shoulder, Jermaine O’Neal returned to action, scoring 16 points on 4-of-15 shooting from the field and 8-of-11 shooting from the free throw line in 23 minutes.

It was Jermaine O’Neal’s first game since March 3 when he sustained a subluxated sprain of the right shoulder during a loss to the Nuggets when he was hit on the right arm by Denver’s Francisco Elson while driving to the basket.

"This was Jermaine O’Neal’s first game in a month," Carlisle said. "All things considered, he made his free throws for the most part, and he took good shots. If you look at his plus minus, he played a very good game."

Trailing by two entering the fourth quarter, Indiana pulled to within 71-70 early in the final period. However, the Pacers would then go more than seven minutes without a field goal.

Meanwhile, Miami put the game away with a 9-2 burst, capped by a Damon Jones three-pointer, giving the Heat an 80-72 edge with 1:41 to play. Indiana would get no closer than four points.

The teams played to an 11-11 tie seven minutes into the action before the Heat closed out the quarter on a 13-4 run to take a 24-15 edge.

Jackson hit consecutive three-pointers to give Indiana a 35-34 advantage with a little more than three minutes to play in the first half. However, the Heat ran off 13 of the next 15 points to surge ahead 47-37 at halftime.

Without Shaquille O’Neal in the lineup, Indiana outscored the Heat 23-13 to open the third quarter, tying the game 60-60, before eventually heading into the final 12 minutes trailing 64-62.