This won’t be a winning trip for the Miami Heat. But it doesn’t have to be a losing one either.

At 1-3 to begin this six-game stretch away from Miami, the Heat can still salvage the long road trip with a strong finish before returning home.

The Heat (4-6) closes the trip with back-to-back games against the Indiana Pacers (5-6) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network — Sun) and Sunday (5 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network — Sun). The Heat needs to win both games to avoid a losing trip and return home with a 3-3 record on the trip.

The margin of error is slim for the Heat, though, with four of its past five games decided by three points or fewer. The last two games were a prime example of that:

▪ The Heat earned a quality 95-94 road win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday behind a game-winning layup from Nikola Jovic with 7.8 seconds remaining.

▪ The Heat then fell to the Detroit Pistons 123-121 in overtime on Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena after Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called a timeout that the Heat didn’t have with 1.1 seconds left in the overtime period. That resulted in a technical foul and the Pistons also retaining the ball, which led to Detroit’s game-winning points.

“We’ll be better from all these experiences,” Spoelstra said after the Heat’s practice Thursday afternoon in Indianapolis. “As tough as it is in this league when you lose those, you just have to embrace all of it. We’re in an incredible profession. That’s what I love about it most.

“Even as horrible, as bad as I felt after the game, it’s what makes you feel alive in this league when there’s competition and there’s consequences. If there wasn’t consequences, you wouldn’t feel the elation from great wins. But there’s also the other side of it. We’ve had two games where it was two totally different emotions. We’ll get better from it.”

But the Heat’s margin for error continues to be even smaller than usual, with star Jimmy Butler set to miss his third straight game on Friday because of a sprained right ankle. Butler, who remains with the Heat in Indianapolis, sprained his ankle during Friday’s loss to the Nuggets in Denver.

“I don’t have an update,” Spoelstra said Thursday when asked about Butler’s status. “But he’s definitely putting in the time. That work has been good for him.”

The Heat will also be without Josh Christopher and Keshad Johnson against the Pacers. Both players are currently in the G League as part of their two-way contracts with Miami.

But the rest of the Heat’s roster is expected to be available to play on Friday, including Jovic.

Jovic, who exited Tuesday’s loss to the Pistons midway through the first quarter with a nasal fracture and never returned, will wear a protective face mask to play against the Pacers on Friday. The mask specifically fitted for Jovic’s face is expected to arrive in Indianapolis on Friday just hours before the game.

It will mark the first time Jovic has ever played with a mask, noting the challenging of breathing and seeing while wearing a temporary mask for Thursday’s practice.

“To see my face and my nose going the other way, it was weird,” Jovic said of watching a replay of his injury. “Good thing they popped it back. It’s a little broken, but I’m good.”

With an opportunity to still salvage the trip, the Heat hopes it can bounce back like Jovic after Tuesday’s rough night in Detroit.

Two losses to the Pacers to close the trip would result in a disastrous 1-5 trip for the Heat, with Friday’s matchup against the Pacers also representing the second of the Heat’s four group-play games for the NBA’s in-season tournament. The last time that the Heat finished a trip lasting five games or longer with no more than one win came during the 2019-20 season, when it closed a five-game trip in February 2020 at 1-4.

“We need to do some more things defensively,” Spoelstra said. “We’re seeing some trends that we can shore up that will really help our defense, and then you just make plays. Even if it’s not pretty, even if it’s not going well, even if everybody is not in a total rhythm, you just find a way to win.”

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Heat center Bam Adebayo and former Heat captain Udonis Haslem are teaming up to host a Thanksgiving event, “Farmers Market Experience,” on Wednesday in Liberty City.

In partnership with Food Rescue US, the event will allow for community members to select fresh produce and Thanksgiving staples — all at no cost.

“Thanksgiving is about community, gratitude, and giving back,” Adebayo said in a press release. “We want to give people in Liberty City the opportunity to enjoy fresh, nutritious food and to bring their families together for a holiday meal they can be proud of.”

The event will run from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Samuel K Johnson Center for residents of Liberty City and surrounding neighborhoods, with registration required.

SOMETHING NEW

Heat broadcaster Jason Jackson announced that he and his JAXFilms content creation team have launched a YouTube channel for sports documentaries, features and shorts.

Jackson previously produced a long-form documentary, “Johnny Was Good,” about one of his high school teammates. Jackson will serve as the executive producer and/or director of the new projects.

A few shorts about the NBA Cup have already been posted to the Another project is currently in the works that focuses on people who call games for a living and their backstories, titled “Voices.”