NBA Cup Odds: Heat at Pacers Lines & Picks

Both the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers were playoff teams last NBA season, but both are under .500 early this season as they face off on Friday night for the first time this season.

Indy is a short favorite on the NBA odds, and it is part of the NBA Cup.

Opening Lines Subject to Change: Pacers -3.5 (total 228.5)
Expert Prediction: Pacers 116, Heat 112

Miami Heat Cup Line -147

The Heat played without All-Star Jimmy Butler on Tuesday and were upset 123-121 in OT in Detroit. The Pistons’ Jalen Duren soared above Bam Adebayo and dunked on an exceptional in-bounds pass from Cade Cunningham with one second left in overtime, tying the game at 121. But then Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called a timeout that the Heat didn’t have, and that led to a technical foul. Malik Beasley hit the free throw to put the Pistons ahead, 122-121. The Pistons kept possession because of the technical foul, and Beasley was fouled and hit one of two free throws, with no time remaining, to account for the final score.

Erik Spoelstra

“I made just a serious mental error at the end,” Spoelstra said. “That’s on me. I feel horrible about it. There’s really no excuse for that. I’m 17 years in. We had talked about it in the huddle. I knew we didn’t have [a timeout]. I just got emotional and reactive on that, and I just made a horrendous mistake there at the end. It’s a shame because we really fought back.”

Spoelstra has won two NBA championships, was an assistant coach on the U.S. team that won an Olympic gold medal this summer, and was the overwhelming choice of executives who responded in the NBA.com GM Survey as the NBA’s best coach, earning 69% of the vote. Spoelstra has recorded 864 career wins (754 regular season & 110 postseason) with the Heat, the fourth-most by a head coach with a single franchise in NBA history.

Pat Riley

Ahead of the season, Heat president Pat Riley challenged his team’s top four players to be the best versions of themselves. Tyler Herro is the only one meeting that challenge so far, and had a season-high 40 points in the Detroit loss. Herro caught fire from beyond the arc while setting an NBA Cup record with 10 made threes. He’s averaging 24.9 points, 5.3 assists and 5.2 while shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 47.9 percent from deep.

Tyler Herro

Herro has connected on multiple three-point field goals in every game this season, the longest such streak to start a season in franchise history. Additionally, Herro has currently done so in 15-straight regular season games dating back to last season, tying the fourth-longest overall streak in team history.

Bam Adebayo

“He’s having a hell of a year,” teammate Adebayo said. “He deserves that All-Star nod. We’ve been pushing him for three or four years to get that nod. He’s healthy, playing at his own pace, making decisions, making plays.”

Adebayo had a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds, but had to play 44 minutes. He is averaging 15.3 points and 9.1 rebounds but has struggled with consistency thus far and is shooting only 40.7 percent from the field.

Jimmy Butler

Butler, meanwhile, has missed Miami’s last two contests while dealing with a right ankle sprain and didn’t practice Thursday, so that’s not a good sign for Friday. Forward Nikola Jovic had to leave Tuesday’s game versus the Pistons early due to a broken nose but should be able to play Friday as long as a protective mask arrives in time.

#MIAvsIND INJURY UPDATE: Jimmy Butler (ankle) has been ruled out of tomorrow night's game vs the Pacers.

Nikola Jovic (nasal fracture) is available.
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) November 14, 2024

Miami will play eight games in November against teams that made the playoffs last season, tying for the most during a single month this season (January). Additionally, five of those eight contests will be on the road.

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Indiana Pacers Cup Line -147

Indiana fell back under .500 with Wednesday’s 94-90 loss in Orlando. The Pacers had a four-point lead and momentum in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, when Anthony Black blocked a layup by Johnny Furphy, igniting a 13-1 Orlando run. Indiana did not score in the fourth quarter until Pascal Siakam hit a 3-pointer at 7:26. Indiana had 10 shots blocked, shot only 38% from the field and was out rebounded 50-41.

Rick Carlisle

“Defensively, it was one of our best defensive games we’ve had in recent years. It was a disjointed game offensively really for both teams because the intensity and physicality was so high,” Coach Carlisle said.

Tyrese Haliburton

Haliburton had just nine points on 3-for-14 shooting but handed out 11 assists – it was his third time this season failing to score at least 10 points but he now has at least 10 assists in six games. After averaging 3.7 assists per game over his first three outings, Haliburton has now recorded 10 or more assists in six of the last eight games (five double-doubles) while averaging 17.4 points and 10.2 assists per game over that span.

Pascal Siakam

Siakam had 25 (8-of-11 FGs), seven rebounds, two assists and four 3-pointers. Those 25 points came on just 11 shots. It was an impressive performance from a player not known for his shooting, let alone 3-point shooting.

Bennedict Mathurin

Mathurin totaled 23 points and 12 rebounds – his fourth straight game with at least 20 points. Mathurin went on a five point personal run as he cut Orlando’s lead to four points with just under two minutes remaining. Despite a 12-point fourth quarter from Mathurin, Indiana fell to the Magic, 90-94. It’s just the third time this season that they’ve recorded under 100 total points.

Mathurin has been inserted into the starting lineup due to injuries in each of the last six games and has averaged 23.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 52 percent from 3-point range.

Bennedict Mathurin put up his third double-double of the season tonight at Orlando. pic.twitter.com/8XMQAdnfom
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) November 14, 2024

Myles Turner

Turner was rather quiet with 11 points and two rebounds but still has averaged 19.2 points and 7.8 rebounds over his last five games with three double-doubles over that span. Turner moved into 54th place ahead of Shawn Kemp (1,279) in NBA history in career blocks with two in Wednesday’s win over Orlando. He moved ahead of Dirk Nowitzki (1,281) into 53rd place with two rejections. Turner needs 12 points to pass Paul George (8,090 career points) for eighth place in Pacers NBA franchise history.

Indiana is continuing to deal with key injuries, as both Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard will sit out against the Heat due to ankle and knee injuries, respectively. Obi Toppin returned Wednesday after a single game absence due to a sprained ankle, but wasn’t much of a factor in 19 minutes off the bench.

The Pacers will debut a new, special court on Friday that will be used during their NBA Cup games. The court pays tribute to legendary Pacers coach and broadcaster Bobby “Slick” Leonard, as his signature slogan “Boom Baby!” is printed the length of the court.

How to Watch and Bet NBA Cup Odds

When: Friday, 7 PM ET
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse
TV: NBA League Pass
Stream: NBA.com, NBA TV app
Radio: Tunein.com

Heat vs Pacers Series History

This marks the first of four regular-season meetings, and they play again already on Sunday. Last season Indiana won the series, 2-1, as Miami has split their last 10 trips to Indiana, going 5-5. Indiana leads all-time 74-56 in the regular season and 50-14 at home.

NBA STANDINGS UPDATE ‼️

▪️ Utah gets the win over Dallas

Download the NBA App for more: https://t.co/wV1YsrFUXw pic.twitter.com/krqfqxx2YL
— NBA (@NBA) November 15, 2024

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