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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
MIAMI (AP) -- A season's worth of frustration and the Miami Heat
were too much for the Indiana Pacers to handle.
Eddie Jones scored 22 points as the Heat beat the Pacers 91-79
Wednesday night, extending their winning streak to three games.
|  | | Brian Grant (44) is taken down by Indiana's Al Harrington in the fourth quarter. Harrington was charged with a flagrant foul and ejected. |
The 79 points were the fewest for the Pacers this season, and
the exasperation showed as Reggie Miller and Al Harrington were
ejected.
Miller was tossed after being whistled for a flagrant foul and
then a technical, and Harrington was ejected following a severe
flagrant foul against Miami forward Brian Grant.
"Our guys have gotten a little frustrated with the way the
whistle has blown against us all year," Pacers coach Isiah Thomas
said. "This was a lot of not only tonight, but what happened in
prior games.
"We came a bit unraveled tonight."
Especially Miller. He scored just nine points, his second-lowest
total of the year. He finished 4-for-13 from the field and was
0-for-5 from 3-point range.
Miller dressed quickly after the game and was not available for
comment.
The Heat pieced together their second three-game winning streak
of the season and moved above .500 for the first time.
"This is the 48 minutes that we've been waiting for," Heat
guard Tim Hardaway said. "We kept the lead. We played good defense
on the other end. It's nice to get a double-digit win. We're
getting better every day."
Indiana's Sam Perkins and Derrick McKey each were hit with
technical fouls, but the real fireworks involved Harrington and
Miller.
Harrington was ejected following his takedown of Grant. Grant
hit one of two free throws to push Miami's lead to 73-60 with 6:44
left.
"I was thinking about where (Jermaine) O'Neal was," Grant
said. "All of a sudden, someone grabbed me from behind. I'll have
to look at the tape to see how bad it was, but it didn't feel too
good."
Miller was called for a flagrant foul against Bruce Bowen with
2:04 left. Bowen hit both free throws, and Miller was tossed after
arguing with the officials.
"It gets wild out there," Grant said. "I think this is
something you can chalk up to youth and frustration."
A.C. Green scored 15 points and Grant had 15 points and nine
rebounds for Miami. Bowen had 12 points and Anthony Mason added 10.
Jalen Rose scored 13 points for Indiana. O'Neal, Travis Best and
Austin Croshere each had 12.
Miami opened a 23-13 lead after one quarter, and led by at least
eight points through the second period en route to a 46-32 halftime
lead.
The Heat led 65-52 after three periods.
"We started off the game attacking, and when we do that, good
things happen," said Jones, who has scored 31, 31 and 22 points in
his last three games. "In the past, we've let teams back into it
in the fourth quarter, but tonight we stayed tough throughout."
Game notes
Indiana scored 13 points in the first quarter, its
second-lowest scoring quarter of the year. The Pacers scored 12
points in the first quarter against San Antonio in their
season-opener. The 32 first-half points were the fewest scored by
Indiana this year. ... Rose missed his first seven shots and didn't
make his first basket until the 3:10 mark of the second quarter. He
finished 5-for-15 from the field and scored 13 points. ...Miami's
three-game winning streak is its second of the year. ... Miami's
Dan Majerle, playing in his third game after missing the first two
months with a hamstring injury, struggled. Majerle logged 18
minutes, but was scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Indiana Clubhouse
Miami Clubhouse
RECAPS
New York 89
Washington 82
Miami 91
Indiana 79
Seattle 107
Houston 92
Philadelphia 118
Golden State 110
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Reggie Miller Official Site
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