First Thoughts: Indiana 99, Miami 92
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
Let’s take a quick look at how the Indiana Pacers grinded out a critical 99-92 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Game 4 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals. The series is tied 2-2.
WHY IT HAPPENED: The Pacers found their defensive footing and survived a game of wild swings with 10 lead changes, five ties and a tense-as-can-be fourth quarter. Indiana came out swinging, scoring the first 11 points of the game, the most unanswered Miami has allowed to start a contest all season. The Heat refused to go away and led 60-54 in the third quarter. LeBron James struggled to make an impact before fouling out with 56 seconds left. The numbers — 24 points, six rebounds and five assists — were all below James’ norms, and he never controlled the game. Miami’s star was disqualified on an offensive foul that came with the Heat down four. They never got closer. Indiana held Miami to 39 percent from the field and shot 50 percent themselves. Roy Hibbert had 23 points and 12 rebounds and Lance Stephenson added 20 and five. George Hill contributed 19 points, six assists and five boards.
WHAT WE LEARNED: It’s going to be a long series. Game 6 will be played here at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday, and the Pacers stayed alive with a gritty performance fueled by seven points on second shots in the fourth quarter. Dwyane Wade never got to the basket the way he did in Game 3 and finished a miserable 5-of-15 from the field. Mario Chalmers scored 20 points for Miami. That wasn’t enough to make up for Chris Bosh’s seven-point, 1-of-6, four-foul debacle. Paul George struggled again offensively, finishing with just 12 points, but grabbed eight rebounds and converted a huge three-point play with about 5 1/2 minutes remaining that tied the game at 83. James picked up a foul on the play after he met George in mid-air. Hibbert is essentially Tim Duncan at this point with the numbers he’s put up over his last five games. This series is now a best-of-three with two games at AmericanAirlines Arena. The Pacers proved they are in it for the long haul.
KEY NUMBER: The Pacers outscored Miami 50-32 in points in the paint, a nearly complete turnaround from Game 3.
TURNING POINT: Easily, the midway point of the fourth quarter. Through six minutes, Indiana had scored six points on 3-of-10 shooting with three turnovers. After that, the Pacers got it together with 16 points the rest of the way on 5-of-9 shooting with just one turnover. The game came down to the final period, and it came down to a turnaround by the home team within those 12 minutes.
NEXT: The series heads back to South Florida for Game 5 on Thursday night.
