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Heat, Pacers square off in Indianapolis

Dec 31, 2014 - 2:43 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - A pair of Eastern Conference foes square off New Year's Eve with the Miami Heat paying a visit to the Indiana Pacers.

The Heat went a disappointing 2-5 on a recent homestand and are scheduled to play two straight and seven of the next eight games on the road. They are 8-6 as the visitor this season.

Miami closed the South Beach residency with Monday's 102-101 loss to the Orlando Magic. Magic guard Victor Oladipo tied the game with under a minute left, then his free throw snapped the deadlock in the closing seconds. He then defended well on Dwyane Wade's potential game-winning shot.

"We have to work a little bit better on execution," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the final play.

Wade said he didn't have a lane to get off a good shot. He scored 25 points (15 in fourth quarter) and made all 11 of his free throws, while Chris Bosh posted 20 points and eight rebounds in his return to the floor. Bosh had missed the previous eight games (3-5) with a calf injury.

Danny Granger scored 21 points and Luol Deng added 14 in defeat.

The Heat will visit Houston Saturday and have won their last two games on New Year's Eve.

Indiana will wrap up a short homestand and dropped a 92-90 decision to rival Chicago on Monday. Jimmy Butler tallied 27 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bulls, while Pau Gasol added 20 points.

The Bulls blew a 21-point lead thanks to a furious rally by Indiana that came up just short. George Hill and C.J. Miles scored 11 points apiece for the Pacers, who took a three-point lead (86-83) late in the fourth quarter thanks to 20 unanswered points.

Butler later buried a key 3-pointer to hold off Indiana and C.J. Watson missed a 3-pointer from the corner. The Pacers' bench outscored Chicago's second unit 48-16 on the night.

Chris Copeland scored a team-high 17 points to lead Indiana's reserves.

"Get stops and play quick," said Copeland. "We really dug in defensively, we moved the ball. Everybody stayed dangerous, and that led to the comeback."

The Pacers' bench has combined for 40 or more points in each of the past five games and 11 of the previous 13.

Indiana, which had won three of four games before losing to Chicago, is 6-9 at home this season and will start a four-game road trip Friday against Milwaukee, the Los Angeles Lakers, Utah and Golden State.

The Pacers took the first of four meetings against Miami with an 81-75 victory in South Beach on Nov. 12. Wade had 20 points to lead the Heat, while Copeland paced the visitors with 17. Roy Hibbert had 16 and 15 rebounds in that one for Indiana.

The Pacers have won five straight regular season home matchups over Miami.