Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers 117-112 (Part -I)
On a night when the Indiana Pacers pushed the Heat to the limit, it eventually took something special from LeBron James, to finally save Miami’s blushes.
A night after being reduced to his worst performance of the season against the Los Angeles Clippers, James redeemed himself in style, as the league’s two-time reigning MVP single-handedly led the Miami Heat to a 117-112 win over the Indiana Pacers.
James scored 41 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and handed out eight assists to spearhead a fourth quarter drive that helped the home team outpace the Pacers down the stretch.
It was just that kind of night for LeBron aka King James.
Though Miami's players spurred up the pre-match hype, vying to avenge the loss they suffered earlier in the season to their opponents, the Pacers were up to the challenge.
James opened the match with a driving lay-up and then tried to take over the game right away, scoring 14 in the first quarter, including three monster dunks. The visitors though hung tough and answered fire with fire. They led 27-25 after Darren Collision slipped in a driving lay-up with just over two minutes to go, but Miami responded with two James Jones’ triple pointers on back-to-back possessions.
James then followed with a lay-up as Miami took a 33-29 advantage into the second quarter. After a tantalisingly close first 12 minutes of play, the Pacers finally busted the Miami defence open in the second. The Pacers' reserve strength came to the fore as they scored all of the points in a 15-0 run that gave the Pacers a 46-37 lead.
James and Dwyane Wade however, stood in between a complete second quarter blow out, as they combined to get to within four points at 56-52 late in the half.
The Pacers though were simply unstoppable.
Dahntay Jones had a four-point play and Roy Hibbert scored twice in a 10-0 run that made it 66-52. James though, turned on the heat again by scoring the final eight points of the half - including two more dunks - as Miami slashed the deficit to 66-63 at the break. By the end of the first half, James had already climbed to 26 points.
He was not only scoring points at a canter, but was doing it in style too, providing several highlight reel moments. His intensity though for once caught the better of his best buddy, Dwyane Wade. In the latter part of the second quarter James jammed one through the net. The ball however, accidentally tipped off on Wade's head causing a mini drama.
All was forgiven in a jiffy though as James consolidated with a game breaking performance. Miami Coach Erik Spoelstra praised James by saying, "I'll tell you what, he's playing MVP-like basketball on both ends of the court. He had a motor tonight that did not fatigue. It was amazing."
The foray from James wasn’t over though.
The Heat's Big Three infused pace into the Miami ranks coming into the second half as the Heat remained within striking distance. However, the Pacers again managed to pull away with a 15-5 midway surge to grasp a 94-81 lead. Miami, propelled by LeBron James, nudged back a tad though as they went into the final quarter staring at a 97-90 deficit.
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