Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers 117-112 (Part -II)
The Miami Heat, who allowed the Indiana Pacers to score 97 points in the first three quarters, completely switched on the intensity in the fourth period of play. The Heat began to tighten the defensive screws and kept chipping away at the lead gradually.
The Pacers sprinted to a 105-100 lead after Dahntay Jones' pulled off a baseline jumper with seven minutes remaining. The shot though proved to be the last field goal that Indiana netted for more than six minutes. The visitors were not getting any open looks at the rim, which resulted in nine consecutive missed shots, as Miami went on an 11-3 run to take a 111-108 lead into the final minute.
Danny Granger finally broke the jinx when he drove past the Heat defence to bring the deficit down to one. However, the Pacers spurned a golden opportunity to get back into the game, when they failed to grasp the rebound after Mike Miller missed a three-pointer in the Heat’s very next possession. That blunder proved costly as it gave the ball to Chris Bosh. Bosh passed it on to James, who obliged with a mid-range jumper that made it 113-110 with 14.1 seconds left.
The game was still in the Pacers reach though, as Josh McRoberts made an alley-oop lay-up shot to again cut the deficit to one with 13.4 seconds to go. LeBron James however, proved to be the Pacer’s nemesis again, as the dazzling forward made a pair of free throws to make it 115-112 with 8.9 seconds remaining. The Pacers couldn't get the ball inbounds on their next attempt to score, turning it over on a five-second violation.
This resulted in a pair of charity throws for Miami, and Eddie House stepped up to close the game out at 117-112 from the free-throw line. Miami held Indiana to only 28 percent shooting from the field in the fourth quarter, giving up only 15 points. Miami on the other hand scored 27 points as they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
Miami Coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game, "A shootout for three quarters, both teams scoring the ball, making highlight plays ... and scoring with relative ease. Finally we made a stand in the fourth quarter."
Although James had a huge night, the other two cogs of the Big Three also chipped in with decent contributions. Chris Bosh notched up 19 points on an 8-of-14 shooting and also grabbed seven rebounds. Dwyane Wade though had a relatively quiet night. The shooting guard missed a number of shots, scrambling a total of just 17 points on the night. However, he stayed productive by dishing out seven assists during the course of the game.
"You don't have to be awesome every night," Wade said. "You have to find a way to help your ballclub win and we were able to do that."
Mario Chalmers was the other Miami starter in double figure with 16 points. For the Indiana Pacers, Roy Hibbert led the way with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Danny Granger scored 19 while Tyler Hansbrough finished with 18.
The Indiana Pacers appeared to make all the right moves throughout the course of the night and were well on their way to win their fifth straight under their newly appointed coach Frank Vogel. However, they were unable to counter the brilliance of LeBron.
Vogel, who has sparked a resurgence ever since he joined the Pacer ranks, was very succinct in his remarks after the match but summed the game up beautifully. He said, "The best player in the world played at his best in his own building. It's tough to beat."
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