A long wait, finally over

The Pacers had spent nearly two months turning Gainbridge Fieldhouse into an unwelcome place for themselves. On Sunday, they finally stopped the bleeding.

Pascal Siakam delivered 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, leading Indiana past the Heat 135-118 and giving the Pacers their first home win since Jan. 31. The victory snapped a franchise-record 11-game home losing streak, which is a distinction no team is especially eager to protect.

Indiana improved to 17-58 and still owns the NBA's worst record. Miami dropped to 39-36 and remained 10th in the Eastern Conference.

Tyler Herro led the Heat with 31 points.

The Pacers also got major help from Micah Potter, who scored 21 points, and Kobe Brown, who added 18. Andrew Nembhard finished with 15 points and 10 assists, T.J. McConnell supplied 15 points and nine assists off the bench, Obi Toppin scored 12 and Quenton Jackson added 10.

A fourth quarter that actually looked like defense

For three quarters, this game had the kind of pace that usually makes coaches age in real time. Indiana was scoring efficiently, but Miami kept matching it enough to prevent the Pacers from pulling away.

The Pacers put up 79 first-half points, their second-best half of the season. Miami was right there with 75. By the end of the third quarter, Indiana had already reached 108 points, and the Heat were sitting at 107.

Then the Pacers did something rare enough to merit attention: they defended.

Indiana won the fourth quarter 27-11, holding Miami to 5-for-28 shooting. The Heat missed all eight of their 3-point attempts in the period and finished the quarter with just 0.44 points per possession. For a team trying to remember what a home win feels like, it was probably the most useful stretch of basketball all night.

Micah Potter gives the offense a jolt

The Pacers had to shuffle their lineup yet again with wings Aaron Nesmith and Jarace Walker sidelined by injury. That forced Indiana into its 42nd different starting lineup in 74 games this season.

Siakam and Nembhard were joined in the opening group by two-way players Ethan Thompson and Jalen Slawson, plus Quenton Jackson, who began the season on a two-way contract. Siakam picked up two fouls within the first three minutes, so center Micah Potter checked in early.

Potter's path to the moment was not exactly linear. He began the season in the G League with the Austin Spurs before Indiana signed him in December, initially on a non-guaranteed deal. On Sunday, he looked like someone determined to make the most of the opportunity.

After missing his first 3-point attempt, Potter made four straight shots from beyond the arc, then faked Heat center Kel'El Ware into the air and drove for a tomahawk dunk. He scored 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting in nine first-quarter minutes and helped spark one of Indiana's best offensive halves of the season.

McConnell also caught fire off the bench, scoring 11 points in the opening quarter on 4-for-5 shooting. Pacers reserves accounted for 27 of the team's 34 first-quarter points and shot 10-for-13 in the period, while the starters went 3-for-6.

Siakam took over in the second quarter while Potter kept the pressure on. Potter hit another 3-pointer and added two free throws before halftime, reaching 19 points by the break. He only scored two points after halftime, but he finished with 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting, including 5-for-6 from 3-point range, plus five rebounds.

Kobe Brown finds a breakthrough game

Kobe Brown's Pacers tenure had been uneven after a promising start. The former Clippers forward opened with three straight double-digit scoring games before the All-Star break, but since then he had mostly faded from view, entering Sunday with just two double-figure outings in his previous 15 appearances.

He also arrived with the second-worst plus-minus total among Pacers players since the break at minus-147, which is not the kind of number anyone puts on a thank-you card.

Against Miami, Brown looked far more comfortable. He moved well without the ball, found open space around the rim and knocked down shots with a rhythm he had not shown all season. Brown finished with a career-high 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including 3-for-6 from 3-point range, and added four rebounds and five assists.

The result was an unusually complete night for a team that had been waiting far too long for anything resembling relief at home.