The Indiana Pacers claimed their first win of the 2021-22 regular season after defeating the Miami Heat 102-91 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday.

If you do a survey about who is the most frustrated team in the new season so far, the Pacers should rank high on the list. They lost their first two games, both by one point, and had to return home to face the Heat back-to-back after the second loss.

Saturday's win did not come easy, not only because it reached OT again, but also because they Pacers almost lost it after an absurd Q3, during which the whole team went 4-17 from the field to score eight points while committing eight turnovers.

The Pacers had Domantas Sabonis, Oshae Brissett and Chris Duarte to thank for the win. Though he missed six shots outside of the paint, Sabonis was 8-9 under the rim and grabbed four offensive rebounds. Brissett managed to survive two 10-day contracts last season to stay on the team. He contributed 18 points and nine rebounds on Saturday, including making a triple and drawing a 3-point shooting foul in the fourth quarter.

And then there was Duarte, whose 6-21 shooting performance was far from pretty, but he showed some rare qualities for a rookie. He's not a playmaker yet, but Duarte already has solid individual offensive skills. He poses enough threat shooting off the dribble and knows how to exploit the defender's concern over it to penetrate. Duarte also displayed the courage to take and make a valuable triple after missing five shots in the final minutes of Q4.

The Pacers are still two players shy of a complete squad, meaning that they should be able to improve after Caris LeVert and T.J. Warren return from injury.

Saturday's loss was a good reminder for the Heat how reliant they are on Kyle Lowry to run the offense. Jimmy Butler's mid and long-range shooting continued to regress. Without posing enough of an individual offensive threat, his orchestrating came with a cost of six assists accompanied by four turnovers. Bam Adebayo is now stuck between two roles. On one hand, he is a great passer among big men, but not good enough to be an orchestrator; on the other hand, Adebayo's individual offense lacks consistency and he is far from being productive in this area.

As a result, the Heat started Gabe Vincent at point guard, and it took coach Erik Spoelstra about two quarters to realize the mistake. After that, the team turned to Tyler Herro to take over point guard duties. Herro continued to shine with a 30-point game. He even had 10 rebounds. But he delivered no assists while committing three turnovers.

The Heat will have to solve the orchestrating issue if they want to challenge the throne this season.

A good point guard makes winning possible

The Cleveland Cavaliers also achieved their first win of the season, beating the Atlanta Hawks 101-95 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Having gone with a peculiar starting squad featuring three 7-footers – Jarrett Allen, Lauri Markkanen and Evan Mobley – the Cavaliers decided to alter the perimeter pair by replacing Darius Garland with Ricky Rubio from the second game.

It turned out to be the correct move because 31-year-old Rubio dropped 23 points, six rebounds and eight assists. The team's offense grew much smoother thanks to the orchestration of the Spanish veteran. He even made three triples and punished Trae Young on offense.

Moreover, the Cavaliers' third-overall selection, Evan Mobley, continued to contribute with an excellent performance of 17 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Though he missed all five of his jumpers, Mobley was a perfect 7-7 in the paint.

The Hawks' shooting underperformance was the biggest cause for their loss on Saturday. The whole team went 10-34 from beyond the arc. Young had 24 points and seven assists but he missed five of six attempts from the 3-point line. Every time he and his teammates drove into the paint, they were met with the wingspan of the Cavaliers. Though the Hawks worked to get 17 offensive rebounds, they still trailed in points in the paint (54-42).

Other games on Saturday (away teams come first):

Dallas Mavericks 103-95 Toronto Raptors

Detroit Pistons 82-97 Chicago Bulls

New Orleans Pelicans 89-96 Minnesota Timberwolves

Milwaukee Bucks 121-11 San Antonio Spurs

Phoenix Suns 105-134 Portland Trail Blazers

Memphis Grizzlies 120-114 Los Angeles Clippers