By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Slovenian guard Goran Dragic scored 23 points – 13 of them in the fourth quarter – and the fifth-seeded Miami Heat completed a first-round sweep of the Indiana Pacers with a 99-87 victory.
For the first time since 2016, the Heat gets past the first round with Tyler Herro scoring 16 points and Bam Adebayo adding 14 points and 19 rebounds. Jimmy Butler scored just six points due to a left shoulder strain.
For the losing side, Victor Oladipo had 25 points and Myles Turner added 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Pacers.
Miami’s bench outscored Indiana’s depleted second unit 38-3 and Lithuanian big man Domantas Sabonis once again was absent for the Pacers.
Indiana cut the lead to 91-85 with three minutes left, but they couldn’t get any closer.
Miami moves on to face the winner of the Magic-Bucks series with Milwaukee having a 3-1 lead.