Pacers collapse in fourth quarter, lose despite 44 points from Tyrese Haliburton

MIAMI -- The Pacers fell apart in the second half Thursday in a 142-132 loss to the Miami Heat at the Kaseya Center. It was their second straight loss, marking the second time this season they've lost consecutive games.

The Pacers fell to 9-8. The defending Eastern Conference champion Heat improved to 11-8.

Here are four observations.

Pacers collapse on both ends in second half

The Pacers held a 13-point first-half lead after shooting 61.4% from the floor in the first two periods, but the bottom fell out in the second half and in drastic fashion.

Things started going wrong in the third when they were outscored 33-27, making just 1-of-10 3-point attempts in the quarter as Jimmy Butler scored 16 points. They saw an eight-point lead trimmed to three in the final two minutes of the third quarter, but they were still up 100-97.

That's when things got truly out of hand.

The powerful Pacers' offense suddenly found itself stuck and scored just 32 points in the quarter on 12-of-32 shooting, making just 3-of-17 3-pointers to finish 4-of-27 for the half. They also got crushed on the glass, allowing the Heat to win that battle 32-15 in the second half, and defense was a problem, as it usually is. Along with Butler -- more on him later -- Jamie Jaquez Jr. and Duncan Robinson caused huge problems. Jaquez, the rookie from UCLA, bullied defenders around the rim for 19 second-half points on 7 of 11 shooting to finish with 24. Robinson scored 10 in the second half to finish with 15.

"Some defensive lapses let them get a run going there," Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton said. "And just not getting good shots offensively."

The Heat shot 59.5% after the break and outscored the Pacers 78-59. They made 15 of 18 field goal attempts in the fourth to hang 45 points in the quarter and post an efficiency figure over 1.5 points per possession for the period. The Pacers, who lead the league in offensive rating, posted 0.97 points per possession in the third quarter and 0.98 points per possession in the fourth quarter.

"We missed a lot of shots that we're accustomed to making," center Myles Turner said. "I think offensively, I don't know how much we scored in the fourth quarter, but it just obviously wasn't enough."

Pacers struggle to contain Jimmy Butler without fouling

The Pacers' biggest individual defensive struggles tend to come against big wings who can score at all three levels, and finish through contact.

Which, of course, perfectly describes the 6-7, 230-pound Jimmy Butler, the five-time All-NBA pick and MVP of last season's Eastern Conference Finals.

The Pacers tried to manipulate matchups so that when Butler drew switches, he was dealing with their top defenders, including Bruce Brown, Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard. But they also used Buddy Hield and Obi Toppin on him as primary defenders at times, and regardless of the approach, Butler found a way get buckets and draw fouls.

"Jimmy's a tough cover and a superstar in this league," Brown said. "He's really smart. If he has a step on a guy he's just going to go into his body. He knows the rules and he plays them to his advantage. He's really smart.

Butler's 16-point third quarter helped turn the tide and he finished with 36 points on 9-of-18 shooting and made 18-of-20 free throws. He helped get Nembhard and Nesmith to foul out as well as Hield and Toppin committed five fouls.

"He pump fakes a lot, he's got a strong body, he gets downhill and his teammates do a good job of finding him down there," Toppin said. "Like I said, he's been doing it for a while. They've made it far because of him."

Tyrese Haliburton sets career scoring high

Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton had what at the time was the best game of his NBA career (and what still might be) when the Pacers played in this building on Dec. 23 of last year, scoring 43 points and hitting 10 3-pointers, including the game-winner in a 111-108 victory.

It was apparent early Thursday that Haliburton intended to have another one of those nights.

He hit two of his first three 3-pointers, both from well beyond the arc. The first was a reasonable 25 feet. The second was an absurd 34 feet on an angle from the Kaseya Center logo on the right side of the floor. Haliburton apparently made the decision at that point that he couldn't be stopped, and for the most part he was right.

In the first half, he posted 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range with a 28-footer and a 27-footer mixed in. At that point, Haliburton felt like he couldn't miss.

"It's like a spiritual feeling," Haliburton said when asked what it's like to be on that kind of a run. "I feel like I've been there for a majority of this season. It feels like it's just me and my defender and the ball out there sometimes. Nobody's in the crowd. It's basketball bliss. It feels amazing."

That put him well on pace to surpass last year's 43-point effort. He struggled in the second half, but still got there with 44 points. He was 6 of 14 from the floor in the second half, but 1 of 7 from beyond the arc. However, he still managed six assists after the break to finish with 10. It was Haliburton's sixth 30-point game of the season and the second time he's cracked 40.

Obi Toppin finds rhythm from outside

Obi Toppin has been a confident outside shooter since his college days at Dayton, but his success in the NBA has been modest at best. He entered Thursday's action having made just 15-of-49 (30.6%) 3s.

But Toppin's trend line had been going up as he had hit 6-of-14 in his last three games and was starting to show more confidence on the perimeter. He built on that Thursday with one of his best all-around shooting performances of the year.

Toppin made all four of his first-quarter field goals with a pair of 3-pointers for 10 points and that got him going the rest of the way. He hit one more 3-pointer, but also kept scoring around the rim with smooth drives and well-timed cuts for layups and alley-oop finishes. He also struggled in the second half, though. He scored 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting, but was 3-of-7 from 3.

"I feel like we came out with a lot of energy, locked in to everything the coaches were telling us," Toppin said. "But we didn't carry on in the second half with that same mindset."

Pacers stats vs. Heat

Miami 142, Indiana 132

INDIANA (132): Hield 5-16 0-0 12, Toppin 10-15 2-5 25, Turner 5-14 3-5 13, B.Brown 5-9 5-7 15, Haliburton 15-28 8-12 44, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Walker 0-0 0-0 0, Mathurin 5-7 2-2 12, Nembhard 1-4 0-0 2, Nesmith 4-5 1-1 9, Sheppard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 50-98 21-32 132.

MIAMI (142): Butler 9-18 18-20 36, Highsmith 1-2 0-0 2, Adebayo 3-9 1-2 7, D.Robinson 5-9 2-2 16, Lowry 6-10 0-0 15, Martin 5-9 4-6 14, Bryant 1-1 0-0 2, Love 1-1 3-4 5, Jaquez Jr. 8-13 7-7 24, O.Robinson 1-2 0-0 2, Richardson 8-11 3-4 19. Totals 48-85 38-45 142.

IND 38 35 27 32 — 132

MIA 33 31 33 45 — 142

3-Point Goals—Indiana 11-43 (Haliburton 6-16, Toppin 3-7, Hield 2-11, Nembhard 0-1, Nesmith 0-1, B.Brown 0-2, Turner 0-5), Miami 8-21 (D.Robinson 4-6, Lowry 3-6, Jaquez Jr. 1-3, Butler 0-1, Highsmith 0-1, Martin 0-2, Richardson 0-2). Fouled Out_Indiana 3 (Hield, Nembhard, Nesmith), Miami None. Rebounds_Indiana 34 (Turner 9), Miami 47 (Butler 10). Assists_Indiana 30 (Haliburton 10), Miami 25 (Love 6). Total Fouls_Indiana 31, Miami 28. A_19,604 (19,600)

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs. Heat: Pacers waste 44 points from Tyrese Haliburton