The Miami HEAT fell to the Indiana Pacers 84-83 Wednesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. LeBron James led the way for the HEAT with 38 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Impact Performance of the Night: It had been a little over three months since the HEAT and Pacers squared off. The fantastic battle between the two best teams in the Eastern Conference Wednesday night showed that it was well worth the wait.
LeBron James certainly didn’t disappoint despite the loss. James was in full-on attack mode from the start and relentlessly drove to the rack. He shot 11 for 19 from the field to get his 38 points and mixed in some mid-range jumpers and a few 3-pointers for good measure. Even though James took some really hard hits throughout the second half, it didn’t deter him one bit. James did all he could to come out of Bankers Life Fieldhouse with a victory, but just came up a tad bit short.
Part of the reason the HEAT fell short was because of Paul George. George finished the game 8-of-19 shooting for 23 points. George had some nice drives to the rim, but did most of his damage from the perimeter. Roy Hibbert had a nice start to the game, but Udonis Haslem essentially locked him down after the first quarter.
The Deciding Run: The Pacers finished the game on an 8-3 run behind some nice drives from Evan Turner and a rare 3-pointer from David West. This came right after an 8-0 run from the HEAT that gave them a four-point lead. Despite all that, Miami still had a chance to win the game at the end, but Chris Bosh missed a good look from outside.
Earlier, the HEAT went on a 17-4 run that spanned the third and the beginning of the fourth quarter that was characterized by excellent defense and consistent attacking from Miami on the offensive end.
Play of the Game: With 9:36 to go in the game, Paul George drove aggressively to the rim past LeBron James and threw down a two-handed jam. The play was part of a little run from the Pacers to come back in the game.
For the HEAT, LeBron James drove into the lane and found a streaking Dwyane Wade down the middle who slammed it over Roy Hibbert to go up 78-76 with 3:54 left in the game. It was part of the 8-0 run the HEAT had down the stretch that was instrumental in the game.
Another great play for Miami came with 1:47 left in the first half. LeBron James drove down the baseline, but he slipped and fell to the ground. He then made the heads up play to pass to Bosh who hit the wide open 3-pointer.
Efficiency Rating: Offensive Efficiency: 94.6; Defensive Efficiency: 92.1
Trend to Watch: The HEAT attacked the rim often and had a bunch of free-throw attempts on Wednesday night. LeBron James was extremely aggressive attacking the rim and his teammates followed suit. James made all ten of his free-throw attempts in the first half and finished 14 for 15 from the charity stripe. Dwyane Wade had six free-throw attempts, while Mario Chalmers had four.
The fact is, the HEAT made it a point to attack the best defense in the league and they had relative success doing so. Being without Ray Allen was huge because perhaps some of those drives could have resulted into some nice looks for him, but that must wait for the next matchup between the two on April 11.
The Takeaway: This game certainly had a playoff feel to it. The HEAT matched the Pacers’ intensity and passion throughout the game and there were some chippy moments as the game wore on. A couple of fouls on James could have been flagrants but were kept as common fouls. Roy Hibbert went down after an inadvertent elbow forced him to go to the back and Lance Stephenson was ejected after two technical fouls, the last one for taunting Dwyane Wade.
The HEAT weathered the storm and kept attacking the Pacers’ defense. Miami also played great defense on the other end to make sure nothing came easy for Indiana. Udonis Haslem slowed down Hibbert and forced him to take shots from a little out of his comfort zone.
Chris Bosh struggled a bit on the offensive end, but played great defense all game on David West and Roy Hibbert. On one instance in the first quarter, Bosh poked the ball away from Hibbert who was backing him down. Cole retrieved it and threw it ahead to LeBron James who finished the slam. Bosh finished with eight points, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Notes: Ray Allen missed the game due to the flu.
Game Highlights: