LeBron James scored 40 points, with 18 rebounds and nine assists, and Dwyane Wade added 30 points as Miami rallied to even its Eastern Conference semifinal series against Indiana with a 101-93 decision over the host Pacers.
INDIANAPOLIS — The coveted league championship, the one LeBron James needs to validate everything, seemingly was vanishing.
With 18,000 towel-waving fans roaring like the engines at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indiana Pacers had knocked the Miami Heat to the floor and to the edge of elimination from the playoffs.
James didn't panic. He simply picked up teammates and carried them to a victory.
And this time, Dwyane Wade helped.
James scored 40 points, with 18 rebounds and nine assists, and Wade added 30 points — 22 in the second half — as Miami rallied to even its Eastern Conference semifinal series against Indiana with a 101-93 decision Sunday over the Pacers.
Indiana had the defending conference champions down and couldn't keep them there.
"I felt like I had to do whatever it took to win," said James, who played all but four minutes of Game 4.
Game 5 of the best-of-seven series is Tuesday in Miami.
With All-Star forward Chris Bosh injured and back in Florida, the James-Wade duo saved the Heat.
"Me and 'Bron had it going," said Wade, who bounced back from the worst playoff game of his career — five points on 2-of-13 shooting — with a strong finish in Game 4.
"We played off of each other very well. We both were aggressive at the same time. That's beautiful basketball for the Miami Heat when we play that way."
Spurs sweep Clippers
LOS ANGELES — Tim Duncan scored 21, Tony Parker had 17 and San Antonio rallied in the final minutes to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 102-99, closing out the series 4-0 and advancing to the Western Conference finals.
The Spurs extended their winning streak to 18 games and their playoff record to 8-0, tying the third-best postseason streak in franchise history.
The Spurs could find out as soon as Monday night who they will play next. Oklahoma City leads the Lakers 3-1 in their series, with Game 5 on Monday.
Chris Paul had 23 points and 11 assists, Blake Griffin scored 21 points, and Eric Bledsoe had 17 for the Clippers, who blew a six-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Note
• Bob Boozer, a former Sonics forward who was in the league for 11 seasons, died at an Omaha hospital Saturday of a brain aneurysm. He was 75.
Boozer, who played on the 1960 Olympic team and earned a gold medal, had his most productive seasons with the Chicago Bulls. He competed for the Sonics in the 1969-70 season, averaging 15.2 points and 8.7 rebounds.
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