The Indiana Pacers were looking to put the Miami Heat on the ropes Sunday and take a commanding 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference Semifinals. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade (Remember him?) obviously had other ideas as they combined to conduct a clinic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and in the process defeat the Pacers 101-93, sending the series back to Miami even at two games in the best of seven series.
Indiana started strong and held Miami without a point for the first four minutes of the game until a thunderous dunk by James put the Heat in to the scoring column. Wade who was a non factor in game three, would go scoreless in the first period, which came to a close with the Pacers leading by seven.
The Heat would pick up the pace somewhat offensively in the second quarter with Wade finally connecting for his first points at the 10:39 mark, but the Pacers were clearly the aggressor and took a 54-46 lead in to the locker room at halftime.
In retrospect, Indiana have might wish they had remained there as Miami’s big two blitzed the Pacers in the third quarter, outscoring Indiana by 14 with James and Wade scoring all but 2 of the total 30 Miami points, highlighted by gaudy 25-5 run that left the Pacers trailing 76-66 heading into the fourth quarter.
The final stanza would be equally frustrating for the Pacers as every time they mounted a charge, Miami had an answer and then some, courtesy of not only James and Wade, but also Udonis Haslem who hit jumper after timely jumper down the stretch to seal the victory, much to the chagrin of the sellout crowd.
Notes: James finished with an incredible stat line: 40 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists in what could be described as the greatest all-round performance in the history of Fieldhouse.
Wade who was M. I. A. in game three, had a phenomenal day as well registering 30 points and 9 rebounds while handing out 6 assists. Haslem added 14 points as the only other player in double figures for Miami.
Danny Granger led Indiana with 20 points and Darren Collison had yet another superb playoff effort with 16 points in just 20 minutes of playing time. Granger did not attempt a free throw despite logging over 41 minutes of playing time.
James and Wade committed just two personal fouls between them in 84 combined minutes.
The Heat’s perimeter game improved in game four as they connected on 5 of 12 three point attempts, with Wade hitting both of his shots from beyond the arc.
Roy Hibbert and David West were mostly out of sync the entire game as they struggled with foul problems largely due to Miami’s quickness. Hibbert led the Pacers with 9 rebounds.
Indiana turned the ball over 15 times leading to 12 Miami points. The Heat dominated the paint outscoring the Pacers by a whopping 50-32. George Hill and Paul George both had their difficulties shooting the ball as they combined for just 6 field goals on 20 attempts.
Game five of the series will be played in Miami on Tuesday. Game six will be played on Thursday in Indianapolis. A few tickets for game six are still available and can be inquired about at (317) 917-2500.
Danny Bridges is an award-winning journalist and a longtime sports columnist for the Indianapolis Recorder. He covers college, professional sports and especially all things IndyCar racing. He can be reached at 317-370-8447 or at bridgeshd@aol.com.
