LeBron James led a third-quarter surge that allowed the Miami Heat to overcome the Indiana Pacers and take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.[dailymail]James scored 16 of his 30 points in the quarter as the Heat overcame a slim Indiana lead to win 90-79, leaving the team just one victory from reaching the NBA Finals for the third consecutive season.
Soccer Star David Beckham courtside as Miami Heat beat Pacers 90-79
Along with his 30 points, James had eight rebounds and six assists as the other two of the ‘Big Three’, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, struggled combining for just 17 points. Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers picked up the slack, adding 28 points between them. But Miami were fortunate to escape with a lenient refereeing decision after Chris Andersen shoved Tyler Hansbrough to the floor.
Andersen was hit with a Flagrant I call and stayed in the game, but the Chicago Bulls’ Nazr Mohammed was ejected during Game three of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals for a similar shove on James.
Indiana had led by four at half-time, but Miami started the second half strongly, going on an 11-3 run from which the Pacers never recovered.
For Indiana, Paul George scored 27 points and added 11 rebounds, while Roy Hibbert scored 22 points - apart from the pair and David West, the rest of the team combined for a measly 13 points. After scoring 20 points in Game four Lance Stephenson was particularly ineffective and finished with just four points, while starting point guard George Hill had just one point.
‘Well, that’s play-off competition at its best,’ said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra. ‘The second half we played much more aggressively and committed to our identity and was able to take that through to the end.
‘We’ve already talked about leaving that behind. This is a highly competitive series. Now we have to get ready for Game six.’
Indiana coach Frank Vogel added: ‘[James] was pretty special tonight. There’s no question about it. This whole team is special. ‘They’re one of the best teams this league has ever seen. We’re enjoying competing against them.’
The series continues with Game six on Saturday in Indianapolis
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