“Thank you Pacers defense”: Miami Heat fans lose it as team drops whopping 142 points in regulation 

Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler marked his return with a scintillating 36-point performance and received ample support from the bench in their dominant 142-132 win over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday.

The win saw them improve to 11-8 on the season and also marked Butler's return after he missed two games, with Miami losing both. Six Heat players hit double figures against the Pacers to light up the Kaseya Center.

Heat fans were happy with how the team made full use of the Pacers' erratic defense. One fan tweeted:

"Never thought I would see a day where the Heat put up 140 points, thank you Pacers defense"

More responses poured in on X:

Miami Heat fans were in awe of the team scoring 142 points

Butler's 36 points also included 10 rebounds and three assists, Jaime Jaquez Jr. came off the bench to dish out 24 points and five rebounds.

Duncan Robinson (16 points), Kyle Lowry (15 points) and Josh Richardson (19 points) all played their parts as the Heat snapped their three-game losing streak.

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Miami Heat did most things right in win against Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers have been one of the teams with relentless offense in the league this season.

However, Miami remained in the contest trading buckets with Indiana. It was also one of those games where the Heat had Kyle Lowry's astute playmaking to thank. The veteran guard has been a spark for Miami’s offense recently. Not only is Lowry playmaking, but he's equally efficient in scoring as well.

The defense rose to the occasion as well, as they contained the Pacers to just 59 points in the second half. Following the win, Jimmy Butler said that he tried to keep it simple.

“I was just trying to play basketball and do what my squad needed to do. Be aggressive, score a little bit, pass the ball a little bit.”

The Heat’s 45 points in the fourth stretch made it the second-highest-scoring fourth quarter in franchise history. Their 142 points is the third-highest scoring game in franchise history, behind only a 144-point night in an Apr. 5, 2022, win over the Charlotte Hornets.

The Miami Heat's next contest is against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday followed by a matchup against the Toronto Raptors four days later.