clarinews@clarinet.com (01/18/90)
MIAMI (UPI) -- Rony Seikaly scored a career-high 31 points Wednesday night, as the Miami Heat defeated the Indiana Pacers 121-111 at the Miami Arena. Rookie Sherman Douglas scored 26 for Miami, while Glen Rice added 14. Billy Thompson aided the victors with 13. The win was Miami's second in a row, while Indiana dropped its fifth straight on the road, and ended a two-game winning streak overall. Indiana (22-16) was led by Chuck Person's 32 points. Reggie Miller added 26, while Vern Fleming chimed in with 25. The Heat (9-30) went on a shooting barrage in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Pacers. Douglas scored 17 of his 26 points in the quarter. Miami trailed 27-25 after the first period. It was a topsy-turvy quarter, for both teams with seven ties and five lead changes. Rice led Miami with 8 first quarter points. The Heat rallied back to score 29 in the second quarter to take a 54-52 halftime advantage. At one time, the Heat led by as much as 10, at 49-39, with 4:13 to play in the half. Indiana would not give up, as they kept chipping away at the lead. Miller hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut a 5-point deficit to 2. Seikaly scored 9 points in the third quarter to give Miami an 86-81 lead after three quarters. Seikaly's thunderous dunk with under a minute to go in the quarter gave Miami a 5-point advantage.