INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ― C.J. Miles wants to see the same sort of fight that Indiana showed in the third period be a part of its game in every quarter.

Miles scored 25 points, George Hill added 20 and the Pacers rallied to beat the Miami Heat 106-95 on Wednesday. Miles and C.J. Watson combined for 10 of Indiana’s 17 points in a decisive third-quarter spurt.

“It shouldn’t take us to get hit to bounce back,” Miles said. “It’s just about us going out there with a focus from the jump every day.”

The Pacers (12-21) have been staggered plenty of times over the past few months. From Paul George’s broken right leg to the series of injuries that once left Indiana without any of its five starters from last season, the Pacers have not resembled the team that pushed Miami to the limit each of the past playoffs.

This time, they appeared to be on the verge of getting blown out after the Heat took a 56-46 lead less than two minutes into the second half. But Indiana stuck around long enough for its perimeter shooters and defense to get back on track.

Miles knocked down two 3-pointers in the key 17-2 spurt, and Watson made four straight free throws to give Indiana its first lead since the first quarter. David West hit a 3-pointer from just beyond the top of the key as time expired in the third quarter.

When the buzzer sounded, the Pacers had turned a 68-61 deficit into a 78-70 lead that had Miami (14-19) reeling.

Indiana pushed the lead to as much as 85-72 early in the fourth.

“We didn’t close the quarter out good at all,” said Heat star Dwyane Wade, who had 20 points, seven assists and three blocks. “That’s been our Achilles heel all season, it’s been the fourth quarter.”

Chris Bosh had 18 points and eight rebounds for Miami, which has lost three in a row. Luol Deng scored 15 points.

Watson finished with 11 points, and Hill ended Miami’s comeback plans with two 3s late in the fourth quarter.

“We just continue to fight and play hard,” Miles said. “We have 10 guys now that can play and everybody out there on that floor can make a play and can help our team.”


Clippers handle Knicks with ease, 99-78

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― J.J. Redick scored 20 points, igniting a 13-0 run with a jumper to open the third quarter, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat New York 99-78 on Wednesday night, sending the Knicks to a year-ending ninth consecutive loss.

DeAndre Jordan added 14 points and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, and Blake Griffin had 13 points, seven rebounds and tied his career high with 11 assists. Jordan and Griffin scored four points apiece in the second-half spurt that stretched the Clippers’ lead from 10 points to 23.

Griffin set up Jordan’s dunk with an alley-oop pass, a play they executed to perfection in the second quarter, too. Chris Paul, who finished with eight assists, hit a 3-pointer for his first basket of the game as part of the run.

Carmelo Anthony was the only Knicks player in double figures with 19 points despite a sore right knee. New York led just once to start the game while falling to 2-16 on the road.

Knicks team president Phil Jackson was on hand at Staples Center, where he once guided the Lakers to repeat NBA championships. New York tied a season low for points.

Leading 63-40, the Clippers got outscored 18-11 to close out the third. But the Knicks couldn’t get a sustained run together in the fourth, which began with a 3-pointer by Spencer Hawes and a three-point play from Griffin that pushed the Clippers’ advantage to 22 points.

Los Angeles shot 44 percent (15 for 34) from 3-point range, with Redick hitting four and Matt Barnes and Jordan Farmar three each. The Knicks had no answer for the league’s second-best team from long-range, with New York making just 4 of 17 3-pointers.

Jamal Crawford added 13 points, Farmar 11 and Hawes 10 for the Clippers, who improved to 6-6 in their last 12 games. Crawford had two 3-pointers to pass Peja Stojakovic for ninth on the NBA’s career list.

The Knicks twice closed within four points in the second, when Anthony and Cole Aldrich had six points each.

Oklahoma City 137, Phoenix 134

San Antonio 95, New Orleans 93

Boston 108, Sacramento 84

Indiana 106, Miami 95

LA Clippers 99, New York 78

Milwaukee 96, Cleveland 80

Houston 102, Charlotte 83