MIAMI (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points and had his second triple-double of the season, Bam Adebayo added 27 points and the Miami Heat opened NBA Cup play by beating the short-handed Indiana Pacers 145-125 on Friday night.
Antetokounmpo finished with 17 rebounds and 10 assists in 31 minutes as the Heat won their second straight. Adebayo made 11 of 14 shots for Miami, which outscored the Pacers 67-46 in the middle two quarters.
Klay Thompson
had his best game since joining Miami, with 25 points and seven 3-pointers. He's now within 55 of matching former Heat guard Ray Allen (2,973) for third-most 3s in NBA history.
Quenton Jackson scored 24 and Andrew Nembhard had 22 for Indiana, which got 14 from Jarace Walker and 13 apiece from Pascal Siakam and Jay Huff.
Indiana scored 42 points in the first quarter, then had 46 in the next two combined. Pelle Larsson scored 18 and Davion Mitchell had a 15-point, 11-assist game for the Heat.
The Pacers had only 11 available players. Tyrese Haliburton is sidelined for at least a couple weeks and possibly longer with a hamstring strain and the Pacers lost Obi Toppin when his back went out before shootaround Friday morning, acting coach Lloyd Pierce said.
Pierce was filling in for Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who was attending his father's funeral in Ogdensburg, New York.
The loss means the Pacers will have a tough time getting out of group play in the NBA Cup event, which is now in its fourth year. Teams play four group-stage games; every team that has reached the knockout round has gone either 4-0 or 3-1 in the opening round.
Pacers: Host Brooklyn on Sunday.
Heat: Visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
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