Pacers host Heat in battle for playoff position

The Heat try to make it five wins in the row and pull into a tie for the No. 8 spot when they visit the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. Toronto, still without injured All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, managed only seven assists – an National Basketball Association low for any team this season – on 33 field goals. Paul drives to the basket and gets the fifth foul on Ibaka after a switch. The Raptors are coming off a loss on Friday night to the Atlanta Hawks 105-99. I know he’s still a captain and a floor general in a suit, but it’s different when you’re out there and you’re battling those guys.

Numerous players, like fans everywhere, do their fair share of scoreboard watching, and know exactly where they are and what the teams around them are doing.

Bottom line, though, the Raptors didn’t shoot the ball very well and that was their ultimate undoing. That started a 7-0 run that was capped by four straight points from George, who finished the first period with eight points.

The Heat, who trailed by 11 points with 3:55 remaining in the third quarter, managed to come back and take the lead late in the final frame. The Pacers needed every point to keep the Heat from staging a comeback in the third, with each George bucket pushing the game to a three possession lead. The Hawks now trail Toronto by two games in the Eastern Conference standings.

With the Bulls losing, the Heat remained ahead of No. 10 Chicago but stayed ninth in the East, now trailing No. 8 Milwaukee by a full game, No. 7 Detroit by 1.5 games and No. 6 in by 2.5 games. Christmas had seven points, scoring four of those on three offensive rebounds.

The Heat rallied in the fourth quarter. “I think there a lot of things between Paul and Dennis that they create good situations for us”.

Not only do they have their own playoff seeding to worry about in the final 16 games of the regular season, but they will be facing teams as desperate as themselves and that should make the task even more hard.

The Raptors came into the game knowing they had to spread the offence out with teams having shown a penchant for loading up on DeRozan. That’s an area we can clean up on giving up what teams needs, which was 3s at that point.

If there was a problem, it was that on too many occasions open shots were passed up.

Young, who had 10 points in the first half, scored on an assist from Teague to put in on top 67-58, but Whiteside’s 3-point play – following an offensive board – got Miami within 69-63 almost midway through the third.

Teammate Jeff Teague added: “Myself included, we all need to get out and run more”, Teague said.