MIA (1) @ IND (3) – Game 6
Indiana avoided elimination, winning game 6 at home by 14pts to force game 7. Indiana outhustled Miami in a physical and sloppy first half (Indiana missed 5 dunk attempts and Miami hit only 3-of-22 from 2pt land), yet still trailed by 1 at the half. After a magnificent 3rd quarter in game 5 by Miami, it was Indiana who dominated the 3rd quarter of game 6, opening with a 14-2 run where Miami was held to only 1-of-11 field goals. Indiana led by as much as 17 in the 3rd quarter as they outscored Miami 29-15, whilst shooting over 70% to the Heat’s 25%. In the 4th quarter, Miami pulled struggling starters Wade and Bosh, and subbed in 3-pt specialist Mike Miller who had only played 7min the entire series. He knocked down back-to-back 3-pters as Miami cut the deficit to 4, however Indiana responded with a 9-0 run. During the run, the game was put out-of-reach when Lebron was called for the offensive foul after driving and colliding into Roy Hibbert in mid-air, and then called for a technical foul as he sprinted down the length of the court in protest. Miami’s assistant coach was also called for a technical straight afterwards.
Indiana avoided elimination, winning game 6 at home by 14pts to force game 7. Indiana outhustled Miami in a physical and sloppy first half (Indiana missed 5 dunk attempts and Miami hit only 3-of-22 from 2pt land), yet still trailed by 1 at the half. After a magnificent 3rd quarter in game 5 by Miami, it was Indiana who dominated the 3rd quarter of game 6, opening with a 14-2 run where Miami was held to only 1-of-11 field goals. Indiana led by as much as 17 in the 3rd quarter as they outscored Miami 29-15, whilst shooting over 70% to the Heat’s 25%. In the 4th quarter, Miami pulled struggling starters Wade and Bosh, and subbed in 3-pt specialist Mike Miller who had only played 7min the entire series. He knocked down back-to-back 3-pters as Miami cut the deficit to 4, however Indiana responded with a 9-0 run. During the run, the game was put out-of-reach when Lebron was called for the offensive foul after driving and colliding into Roy Hibbert in mid-air, and then called for a technical foul as he sprinted down the length of the court in protest. Miami’s assistant coach was also called for a technical straight afterwards.
Miami, without a true center in Chris Bosh (who is primarily a power forward), played more minutes for Joel Anthony, as Chris Andersen was suspended from game 6 after shoving Tyler Hansbrough in game 5. Indiana captialised as Roy Hibbert dominated on the inside with 24pts, 11reb, and Indiana outrebounded Miami 53-33 and outscored them in the paint 44-22. Bosh and Wade struggled and shot only 4-of-19 from the field, their lowest scoring output since they teamed up together in Miami. Lebron tried to carry the load in isolation as he did whilst playing for Cleveland, but struggled against Indiana’s stifling defense, which held him to 10-of-21 from the field, despite tallying 29pts, 7reb, 6ast. Indiana’s rising star Paul George took on the challenge against Lebron, and finished with a playoff career-high 28pts. Indiana’s David West suffered from an upper respiratory infection and a fever, and was sent home early from the morning shootaround by coach Frank Vogel. West insisted on starting the game anyway, and provided 8 key points for Indiana in the 4th quarter alone, finishing with 11pts, 14reb.
Miami matched its lowest point total (77) this season (also against Indiana), shooting 36.1% and hitting only 16-of-54 on 2-pters. The Heat are 1-4 in Indiana this season, but will return home for game 7. This is now the second straight year that Miami will play a game 7 in order to progress to the NBA Finals. Indiana looks to return to the NBA Finals for only the second time in team history, their last time losing to Kobe/Shaq and the Lakers in 2000. The last time the Pacers played a game 7 in an Eastern Conference Finals was against Michael Jordan and the Bulls in 1998, who won game 7 and eventually the NBA title. This will be Lebron’s 4th career game 7, and he has won only 1 out of 3 (2 with Cleveland), whilst averaging 34.3pts in those game 7s – the highest for any player who has played multiple game 7s. The pressure is on Lebron to deliver on his promise of winning multiple championships in Miami.
Video – Game Recap:
Top Plays of the Day:
Lebron’s technical foul:
Charles Barkley on Game 7 pressure:
http://www.nba.com/video/
The Emergence of Paul George (George vs Lebron):
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