No Tyrese Haliburton, No Problem For Pacers – 3 Key Takeaways as Indiana Nullifies Jimmy Butler Heroics

The Indiana Pacers packed a perfect revenge for the Miami Heat on Saturday with a blowout 144-129 win. Two days ago, the Heat gave a similar setback to the Pacers. Notably, on this occasion, the Indy side didn’t have its franchise leader Tyrese Haliburton on its side. The 23-year-old star, who is currently having a career-best season averaging 27 points, missed out due to illness. Despite his absence, the Pacers’ offense flooded in the Buckets and starved the Heat. On the other hand, let’s not forget to credit the heroic Jimmy Butler, who kept churning in the buckets.

Let’s find three key takeaways from the game.

1. Pacers drop 144 on Heat without Tyrese Haliburton

It wasn’t just the Pacers who were playing without their star, the Heat also missed their star attack. Bam Adebayo was ruled out ahead of the Saturday game as he sustained a hip injury. He is expected to miss the next outing as well. However, Haliburton’s absence didn’t affect the Pacers as the bench actively contributed to the total. While the bench contributed 56 points, Bruce Brown Jr. led the starting line with 30 points, supported by Obi Toppin and Myles Turner.

2. Jimmy Butler has taken his scoring to the next level this season

Every loyal NBA fan is aware of the capabilities of Jimmy Butler in the Heat’s threads. Especially after his full-blown attack in the 2023 playoffs. Fortunately enough for the Miami side, Butler picked up from where he left off. He has been on a scoring spree this season, averaging 22 points per game. In the Saturday night game, he dropped 33 points with 5 rebounds and 5 assists, helping the team have a competition against the Pacers’ offense. However, it wasn’t enough for the team. Apart from Butler, none of the players scored above 20 points.

3. The Pacers’ offense saves the butter hands of the defense

There are no complaints about the Pacers’ offense in the game, as they exploded even without their scoring leader. On the other hand, the Pacers’ defense had a tough night dealing with the Heat buckets. They looked extremely weak and gave away easy buckets. The Pacers team as a whole had a good day on the court, shooting at 66% whereas the Heat only shot 54%. It could be easy to write off the Heat early, but they have the potential to turn things around like they did in the 2023 playoffs.

Read More – “This is Not Enough”: Unimpressed by Bam Adebayo’s Career High Season, Ex-Champ Demands “More” From Heat Star

The Miami team looks to win their next outing against the Toronto Raptors. Meanwhile, the Pacers have a clean In-season tournament record and would look to seal the trophy.

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What do you make of the Pacers’ strong offense? Let us know in the comments below.