Miami Heat defeats Indiana Pacers, takes 3-2 lead in series Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/23/2812856/miami-heat-defeats-indiana-pacers.html#storylink=cpy

The Heat’s grind-it-out series with the Pacers got a little less stressful Tuesday night. Miami coasted to a 115-83 victory at AmericanAirlines Arena in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series. It was the Heat’s third-largest margin of victory in a playoff game.

The Heat can close out the series on Thursday with a victory in Indianapolis.

“We really have to commit to keeping this edge we’ve had for two games knowing we’re going into a hostile environment,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

LeBron James dominated once again, and Dwyane Wade looked as fresh as ever in what turned out to be a statement game for the Heat after a series of hard fouls. It all started with Wade facedown on the court in the second quarter.

Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough sent Wade to the ground with a hard foul with 10:23 left in the quarter. A replay revealed that Hansbrough raked his fingernails across Wade’s eyes, drawing blood above Wade’s right eyebrow.

“Obviously, my face is not the ball,” said Wade when asked if he thought Hansbrough was making a play on the ball. “I think it was uncalled for because I had already been fouled once.”

RETALIATION

Hansbrough’s claw work marked the second game in a row the Pacers have bloodied a Heat player. In Game 4, Pacers reserve Lou Amundson gashed Haslem in the head with an elbow. The cut required stitches.

Apparently, Haslem had seen enough.

Less than a minute after Hansbrough’s flagrant foul on Wade, Haslem went after Hansbrough with what looked like a deliberate shot to the face. Hansbrough was in the act of shooting but it appeared Haslem worried little about trying to block the shot. Instead, he crushed Hansbrough with both arms.

Hansbrough’s head snapped back as he went to the ground. Haslem was whistled for a flagrant 1. From there, the Heat outscored the Pacers 83-58. After the game, Hansbrough said he wasn’t sure if Haslem’s foul was intentional.

“Check my rap sheet,” Haslem said, when asked if his foul was retaliatory. “I play hard. That’s it.”

PACERS IN PAIN

Pacers forward David West, who had 10 points and four rebounds, complained of dirty play by the Heat after the game. He said a Heat player “dove” into his knee at one point in the game.

“But I can take care of myself,” West said. “I don’t need referees protecting me.”

Danny Granger left the game with a sprained left ankle in the second quarter after landing on top of James’ foot. He finished with 10 points and his status is day-to-day, according to Pacers coach Frank Vogel.

STILL PHYSICAL

The outcome was long decided but the hard shots kept coming. Dexter Pittman sent a nasty elbow to the face of reserve Lance Stephenson in the final seconds of the game. Pittman was assessed a flagrant 1, but the NBA could review the play and suspend Pittman for Game 5. The same goes for Haslem and Hansbrough.

Stephenson is the Pacers’ little-used reserve who made headlines in Game 3 when he made the choking sign after a missed free throw by James.

“There were three hard fouls in this game, and the league will review them,” Spoelstra said. “We thought [Haslem] was making a play on the ball. This is a physical series. Nobody wants to make it into anything more than that.”

James led the Heat with 30 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. He has missed back-to-back triple-doubles by a combined three assists. James left the game with 4:19 remaining and received a standing ovation from the crowd. James’ early exit triggered the arena’s customary seat cover toss. White seat covers rained down from the upper deck as James lifted his hand to the crowd to acknowledge the applause.

James has scored 70 points to go along with 26 rebounds and 17 assists in his past two games.

IN THE GROOVE

Wade had another throwback playoff game, going 10 of 17 from the field for 28 points. He struggled from the free-throw line (7 of 13) but made up for it with vintage dashes to the basket and superb transition play with James. The Heat outscored the Pacers 22-2 in fast-break points and outrebounded Indiana 49-35.

“We want to continue to defend,” James said. “When we defend and rebound we’re a good team and it allows us to get into our break.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/23/2812856/miami-heat-defeats-indiana-pacers.html#storylink=cpy

Pacers Smack Down Heat to Win Game 3: Heat Fan Reaction

The Miami Heat left home ruing their missed opportunity to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series when they let the Indiana Pacerssteal Game 2 late. The Pacers made that win stand up by backing it up with a dominant Game 3 victory in their home arena.

In a bid to adjust to the absence of Chris Bosh, Erick Spoelstrastarted young forward Dexter Pittman at the center position and started Shane Battier at the power forward. This allowed LeBron James to return to his more natural position as a small forward.

The move did not pay off, as Pittman missed two early shots against Roy Hibbert and the Indiana Pacers took advantage on offense, getting off to a 9-2 start. The Heat rebounded in a big way, making 10 straight shots to take a 26-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Mario Chalmers was huge for the Miami Heat by successfully navigating his way to the hoop. Unfortunately, too many of his teammates did not follow suit. Shane Battier shot 0-7 and LeBron James cooled off significantly from a strong 7-13 first half performance. However, the main story is Dwyane Wade's continued shooting struggles, finishing 2-13 on Thursday.

Wade's inability to finish from the field is quickly becoming a big concern for the Heat. In the first two games of the series, Wade was able to make up for some of his misses by getting to the free throw line consistently. In Game 3, he attempted only two free throws. Last night, his frustrations eventually boiled over into a verbal outburst against Spoelstra during a huddle which required his teammates to physically separate the pair.

The Pacers will not go away quietly, and they have rallied around their coach Frank Vogel's commitment to teamwork and rebounding, and their fans showed their support in impressive fashion. The onus is on the Heat to reclaim control of the series, and with the extra off day, maybe they'll be able to figure out a new strategy by Sunday afternoon.

Philip is a lifelong NBA fan and has followed the Miami Heat closely since The Decision.

NBA playoffs: Pacers cool Heat, tying Eastern series at one (+video)

And that has the Heat facing their first big problem of the postseason.

David West scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Indiana Pacers took home-court advantage away from Miami by beating the Heat 78-75 in Game 2 of the teams' Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday night — after James and Wade both came up short on key opportunities down the stretch.

"We never felt like we were the underdogs," Indiana'sDanny Granger said.

The series is tied at a game apiece, with Game 3 inIndianapolis on Thursday night.

With Chris Bosh out indefinitely because of a strained abdominal muscle, James scored 28 points for Miami and Wade finished with 24, making them the only two Heat players to score more than five — the first time that happened in franchise history, according to STATS LLC. James missed two free throws with 54.3 seconds left and Miami down one, and Wade was short on a layup that would have tied the game with 16 seconds remaining.

RELATED: NBA playoff news and notes

Moments later, a few of the Pacers were leaping at midcourt of Miami's floor, something that Wade said was noticed afterward, though the Indiana side disputed that it was a celebration. Either way, the Heat have bigger issues to address.

"Chris was missed, no doubt about it," Wade said. "But that's not the reason we lost this ball game."

The Pacers kept giving Miami chances. Plenty of them.

Indiana missed 24 of 29 shots in one stretch, on the road. The Pacers wasted an 11-point, second-half lead. They were outscored by Wade and James in the fourth quarter, 21-17.

Somehow, it worked.

"Defense and rebounding," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. "We built this team, we started talking about smash-mouth basketball, about winning the war in the trenches, and that's with defense and rebounding. That's what I grew up watching Eastern Conference basketball being like. We understand offense is going to come and go, especially like a great defensive team like these guys ... but we're pretty good, too."

Miami shot 35 percent and got outrebounded 50-40, yet still could easily be up 2-0.

"The game is not lost or won with two free throws," James said. "But I definitely want to come through for my teammates. So I'll get an opportunity again. I know I'll be at the line again in that situation. Just go up and make 'em."

After Wade missed the layup that would have tied the game, he remained on the court for a few extra seconds, looking exhausted until James — who said Wade would make that shot "10 out of 10 times" — pulled him up.

Miami Heat loses Game 2 to Indiana Pacers, series tied 1-1 Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/16/2801515/miami-heat-loses-game-2-to-indiana.html#storylink=cpy

Two players can’t be better than an entire team every night.

In the Heat’s first full game without forward Chris Bosh, Miami lost to the Pacers 78-75 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday night. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, who carried the Heat to victory in Game 1 after Bosh went down with an injury, combined for 52 points in Game 2, but it wasn’t enough to offset a horrendous offensive effort from the rest of the team.

James and Wade carried the scoring load for the Heat, but it was Mario Chalmers who had the ball in his hands in the final seconds. Chalmers missed his three-pointer at the buzzer, and fans at AmericanAirlines Arena began tossing their white seat covers onto the court in frustration.

“Welcome to the playoffs for us, and that’s how we’re viewing it,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, trying to remain upbeat. “This series has started. They won on our home court.”

Tied 1-1, the series now shifts to Indianapolis for two games before returning to Miami for Game 5.

“Welcome to Eastern Conference playoff basketball,” said Pacers coach Frank Vogel, a nod to the physical defense.

James and Wade accounted for 21 of the Heat’s 23 points in the fourth quarter, and Miami held the Pacers to 17 points in the final 12 minutes, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a disastrous third quarter. The Pacers outscored Miami 28-14 to take a 61-52 lead into the fourth.

“There’s not a lot of shots in this series,” Spoelstra said. “They were able to break through in the third quarter, which was probably the best quarter for either team this series.”

Led by seven points from David West, the Pacers shot 55.6 percent from the field in the third quarter to build an 11-point lead. For the Heat, only James and Udonis Haslem managed field goals in the period.

James led the Heat with 28 points on 10-of-22 shooting to go along with nine rebounds and five assists. His six steals set a personal best in a playoff game and a Heat postseason record. Wade finished with 24 points on 8-of-22 shooting and was 8 of 10 from the free-throw line.

Heat players not named James and Wade combined to score 23 points. Haslem, Ronny Turiaf and Joel Anthony struggled to replace Chris Bosh and combined to score seven points. The Heat was 1 of 16 from three-point range and has only made one three-pointer in the series.

“We need to find a better way to get those guys to stay involved and then stay more confident,” Wade said of the Heat’s role players.

West, the Pacers’ power forward, said limiting Haslem, Turiaf and Anthony were keys to the game. The Pacers also outrebounded the Heat 50-40 and held the Heat to six points on the fast break.

“I just thought it was a matter of limiting some of those other guys,” West said. “I think that was the biggest difference. Joel Anthony came in and kind of hurt us in Game 1.”

West, who had 16 points, was one of four Pacers to score in double figures. George Hill had 15 points, Danny Granger had 11 and Paul George finished with 10. Leandro Barbosa had eight points off the bench, and guard Darren Collison had six.

As a team, the Pacers shot 37.8 percent from the field.

“We understand that offense is going to come and go,” Vogel said. “Our guys played harder tonight than they have all season.”

West gave the Pacers a 76-73 lead with 2:55 left in the game, but Wade cut the lead to one point with an offensive rebound and putback on the next possession. That’s when the pressure of the moment seemed to get the best of both teams.

George delivered an excellent block on a layup attempt by James with 1:21 left and even managed to pick up a foul while pulling down the rebound. George then missed both of his free-throw attempts.

Not to be outdone, James then missed a pair of free throws on the Heat’s next possession. It left Miami trailing 76-75 with 53 seconds left in the game.

“Next game I just got to hit ’em,” said James, who went 8 of 13 from the line.

Roy Hibbert pulled down a key offensive rebound with 32 seconds to play and made 1 of 2 free throws with 32 seconds left to put the Pacers ahead 77-75. A miss by Wade put George at the line, who made 1 of 2. The Heat could do little in the final seconds other than free up Chalmers for a three-pointer.

“We got a decent look at it,” Spoelstra said.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/16/2801515/miami-heat-loses-game-2-to-indiana.html#storylink=cpy

Pacers eliminate Magic for first series victory since 2005

INDIANAPOLIS -- It was just like old times at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Finally.

After years of losing and players finding trouble, the Indiana Pacers finally gave their fans something to really cheer about. Danny Granger scored 25 points to help the Pacers defeat the Orlando Magic 105-87 on Tuesday night and clinch their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series 4-1."I'm just so happy for our fans," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "They've endured a lot those years when we struggled. To finally see us come back and have a winning team again and somebody that has a chance to do something special this year. That's what they deserve. Pacers basketball is back."

The Pacers will play Miami or New York in the second round. Miami leads that series 3-1, and as the final minutes ticked away, fans began chanting, "Beat the Heat."

"It was electric," Granger said. "The crowd was crazy. They had a lot of momentum going. They pushed us in that fourth quarter."

It was a tough series for Orlando, which played all five games without All-Star center Dwight Howard because of a back injury. They took the opener, then watched Indiana put together its first series win since 2005 and its first clincher on its home court since the first round of the 2000 playoffs. No player on Indiana's roster had won a playoff series while playing for the Pacers.

"It's an unfamiliar situation for a lot of guys, but I just thought we stayed together," Indiana forward David West said. "They made some runs, made some shots. But ultimately, we stayed together as a team and won this game as a unit."

Granger finally got his first series win in year seven. Perhaps fans should take it easy on him -- it took Reggie Miller six years.

"Close out game, you obviously want to play your best at these moments," Granger said. "I pride myself on that. I had big night, but I'm just glad we got the win."

Darren Collison scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and George Hill added 15 points for the Pacers, who trailed by two at the end of the third quarter but outscored the Magic 36-16 in the final 12 minutes.

Collison's complete dominance of Orlando point guard Jameer Nelson in the fourth quarter turned the game. Indiana had no answers for three quarters before Collison, who had lost his starting job late in the season, entered the game and took over. Collison made all seven of his shots in the fourth quarter and had four assists. Nelson made 1 of 5 shots in the period and missed both of his 3-point tries.

"That's a testament to the type of team we have," West said. "We're deep, man. We've got guys, that when their number's called, they're prepared. DC just had another gear that I don't think anybody else on the floor had."

In Game 4, Indiana blew a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter before pulling out a win in overtime. This time, the Pacers shot 75 percent in the final 12 minutes.

Nelson led Orlando with 27 points and made 5 of 8 3-pointers. Glen Davis, a thorn in Indiana's side throughout the series, scored 15 but made just 6 of 17 shots. The Magic, who made just 5 of 16 shots in the fourth quarter, didn't want to use Howard's absence as an excuse.

"We don't think like that," Orlando forward Ryan Anderson said. "We know we can win and play hard. We proved in Game 1 we can come out and play hard and win."

Orlando surprised Indiana in Game 1, forced overtime in Game 4 and led heading into the final quarter of their season.

"We gave a tremendous effort," Anderson said. "We really battled. We played hard. Nobody can say we didn't. It's just tough."

Collison made a layup and hit a 3-pointer to give the Pacers a 78-73 lead with 9:33 to play. After Nelson drained another 3, Collison came back with a layup, then Leandro Barbosa's steal and layup pushed Indiana's lead to 87-80 with 6:49 to play and forced an Orlando timeout. A few minutes later, Paul George stole an inbounds pass and found Granger under the hoop for a layup and a 91-80 lead. The Pacers dominated from there.

Indiana led by as many as 15 points in the first half, but as was the case throughout the series, it didn't last. Orlando got hot late in the half, and a 3-pointer by Jason Richardson and a bucket by Davis cut Indiana's lead to 48-47. Indiana's Roy Hibbert made a hook shot to push the lead back to three at the break.

Orlando tied the game at 61 on a fadeaway by Davis before a three by Nelson gave Orlando a 66-64 lead. Nelson hit another three in the closing seconds -- he had 15 points in the quarter -- to give Orlando a 71-69 lead. Hill added nine points in the period to keep the Pacers in the game before Collison and Granger put it away.

Now, Indiana wants more.

"Huge step for our franchise," Vogel said. "We're not happy with just getting that, though. We feel like this is just the beginning of a big run. We're excited about where we're at as a basketball team."

Game notes
The teams combined for just five turnovers in the first quarter. ... Indiana shot 50 percent in the first 12 minutes. ... Orlando made just 1 of 7 3-pointers in the first period. ... Collison's first turnover of the series came in the closing seconds of the third quarter. He finished the series with 23 assists and one turnover in the series. ... Orlando outscored Indiana 24-19 in the third quarter. Indiana had outscored the Magic 108-60 combined in the third quarter of the previous four games.