The Indiana Pacers, showing the poise and determination Miami was supposed to have, routed the cold shooting Heat 94-75 on Thursday to take a surprising 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final series.
Out West, the San Antonio Spurs continued their dominant ways, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 105-88 for a 2-0 series lead. The Spurs, who have now won 16 consecutive games, were led by Tony Parker who scored 22 points on his 30th birthday.
Indiana was expected to be no
challenge for Miami in the series, but suddenly it is the Heat who must
regroup after being outscored 51-32 in the second half for a second
consecutive loss.
"The game was won once again with
defense and rebounding, and that's (what) this team's identity is
about," Pacers coach Frank Vogel told reporters.
Big man Roy Hibbert
played the meatiest role, muscling his way to 19 points and 18 rebounds
against a Heat team again missing injured forward Chris Bosh.
"His favorite saying is 'send
them to Big Dog,'" Pacers guard George Hill said of Hibbert. "When we're
in trouble, he's our bail-out."
Hill helped out with 20 points and forward Danny Granger collected 17
as the Pacers head into Sunday's Game Four in Indianapolis with the
upper hand.
Miami tried to shake up its lineup, but it had little effect.
"It was a good, old-fashioned butt-kicking," said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra.
Regular Mario Chalmers scored 25 while the NBA's most valuable player LeBron James had 22.
The three other Miami starters collectively scored five points, all by an ice-cold Dwyane Wade.
The normally high-scoring All-Star guard did not have a point in the first half for the first time in 95 postseason games.
"I guess I made history tonight," said a frustrated Wade, who was 2
of 13 from the field and screamed an expletive at Spoelstra during the
third quarter.
Shane Battier, who started at small forward, missed all seven of his
shots, and replacement center Dexter Pittman lasted less than three
minutes as Indiana jumped out to an 11-2 lead.
The Heat fought back for a 26-17
advantage at the end of the first quarter, though that would be the last
period the Heat would dominate.
The Pacers
tied the score by halftime and controlled the game afterwards, holding
Miami to 12 points in the third quarter as they stormed to a 69-55 lead
before closing it out in the final period.
At San Antonio, Parker made up for scoring only nine points in the opening game of the series.
"They tried to take me out of Game One, so I had to be patient," he said after celebrating his birthday with a crucial win.
"In the first half they did the same thing. In the second half things started opening up."
Tim Duncan added 18 points for the Spurs while Blake Griffin Continue Reading
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