• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Heat down Pacers for third win in as many nights

Feb 15, 2012 - 3:46 AM Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Entering this lockout-shortened season, many expected games on three consecutive nights to wear down even the league's most athletic players.

Not so for the Miami Heat.

LeBron James netted 23 points to go with nine rebounds and seven assists as Miami rolled over Indiana, 105-90, on Tuesday to go unbeaten on a tough stretch.

Norris Cole tied a career-high with 20 off the bench, Dwyane Wade chipped in 16 and Chris Bosh added 13 for Miami, which has won road games on back-to- back-to-back days.

The Heat defeated Atlanta on Sunday and Milwaukee on Monday and have won four straight overall, improving to 4-1 on a six-game road trip.

"When you have three games away in three days on the road, we knew we were going to have to come out and get a good start, and we did," said Wade. "We knew we had a job to do and I think we really out-played them at both ends of the floor."

Six players scored in double-figures for Indiana in defeat, led by David West's 14. Paul George and A.J. Price both had 12, Tyler Hansbrough scored 11 and Dahntay Jones and Roy Hibbert both had 10 for the Pacers, who dropped their fourth consecutive game, extending a season-high losing streak.

Miami swept games on three consecutive nights for the first time since 1999. It was the third time such a sweep has happened in the NBA this season, and the first to occur entirely on the road.

The Heat began the game on fire, taking a 23-9 lead after a 10-0 run. Wade knocked all five shots he took in the first quarter to pace the Heat with 10 points, and Miami shot 57.1 percent from the floor while holding Indiana to just 26.1 percent en route to a 33-16 edge after one.

"They came out and jumped all over us. There was no way that we could battle back from the hole that we dug for ourselves," said Jones. "They're one of the better teams in the NBA and they're not going to let you back in when they get you down the way they got us down tonight."

It was more of the same in the second, with Miami improving its field goal percentage to 63.2 percent while forcing eight turnovers in the quarter. Sixteen of the Heat's 35 points in the second came off the bench, as they increased their lead to 68-39 at the half.

James and Cole dominated the third. They scored 19 of the Heat's 22 points to give Miami a 90-58 edge after three.

Miami led by as many as 35, at 95-60 near the beginning of the fourth. Indiana would score 30 of the game's remaining 40 points, but the Heat's lead was too large to overcome.

Game Notes

Miami's 23-7 record ties their best 30-game start in franchise history (1996-97 and 2004-05)...The Pacers gave up 60-plus points in the first half for the second consecutive game...The Heat won their fourth straight in Indianapolis after dropping the previous 14...Miami scored 100-plus points for the fourth consecutive game, tying a season-high.