Grade the Game: 2 Duds, 1 stud from Indiana Pacers' embarrassing loss to Miami Heat

After a hot start to the season, the Indiana Pacers have fallen off, and they’ve fallen off in a big way. Following their Thursday night loss to the Miami Heat, they are now just 9-8 on the season.

Their loss to the Heat stung particularly bad, considering the Pacers held a 13-point lead at one point. In fact, they had a wire-to-wire win in the palm of their hands through three-quarters.

Then, the fourth quarter happened.

Miami absolutely steamrolled the Pacers, turning a Pacers lead into a 10-point win for themselves, winning the quarter 45-32 and the game 142-132. The Heat were up by as many as 16 points in the final frame.

With all that in mind, let’s take a look at two duds and one stud from the Pacers’ brutal loss to the Heat, grading each performance.

Dud - Buddy Hield

Another game, another dud list for Buddy Hield. After a nice stretch after being inserted into the starting lineup, Hield has struggled mightily to bring much to the table.

Against the Heat, Hield finished the game with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block while shooting 5-of-16 from the field and 2-of-11 from distance.

To make matters worse, in the fourth quarter, Hield had just six points but shot 2-of-9 from the floor and 2-of-7 from behind the three-point arc.

It was a rough game for Hield, capped off by the fact that he fouled out. Not only is he struggling to keep up on the defensive end, but his shot has been rough as of late, too.

GRADE: C-