Heat run away in 4th quarter and beat Pacers 142-116 to hand Indiana its 8th straight loss

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Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) drives to the basket as Indiana Pacers guard Aaron Nesmith, right, defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) loses control of the ball as Indiana Pacers guard Aaron Nesmith (23) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) — Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) drives to the basket as Indiana Pacers guard Aaron Nesmith, right, defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

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7:35 PM on Saturday, December 27, 2025

By TIM REYNOLDS

MIAMI (AP) — Andrew Wiggins and Jaime Jaquez Jr. each scored 28 points, and the Miami Heat ran away in the fourth quarter to beat the Indiana Pacers 142-116 on Saturday night.

Norman Powell scored 23 for the Heat, who won for the second consecutive night. Miami outscored Indiana 44-22 in the final quarter, after leading 98-94 going into the last 12 minutes.

Miami had 83 points in the second half, and had a 60-23 edge in bench scoring.

Nikola Jovic scored 19 for Miami, with the Heat outscoring Indiana by 35 points in his 25 minutes. The Heat scored at least 140 points for the sixth time this season and seventh time in 2025, after reaching 140 points seven times — combined — from 1988 through 2024.

Indiana's Aaron Nesmith returned after missing 19 games with a shoulder injury. He scored nine points in 19 minutes.

“He has worked extremely hard to get back to this point," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “And so now we’ve got to navigate this thing the right way.”

The Heat were again without Tyler Herro (toe) and Bam Adebayo (back). Both are progressing, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Herro has been limited to six games this season and has missed nine of Miami's last 10 — while Adebayo has missed the last two, with nagging things that were turning into bigger issues.

“He really needed this time ... he's dealing with some (things) because of overcompensation,” Spoelstra said of Adebayo. “I think he's feeling a lot better each day."

Up next

Pacers: Visit the Houston Rockets on Monday.

Heat: Host the Denver Nuggets on Monday.

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