The Pacers vs the Heat is always a good one. 

Heat, Pacers, Paul George, LeBron James, DunkIn the third match up of the year between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers, there were plenty of technicals and hard fouls being thrown around throughout this game in Indiana. And that’s the way it should be between these two teams.

Miami and Indiana may have the only true rivalry in the NBA. The last two playoff series between the Heat and Pacers have been absolute wars and tonight was no different. LeBron James finished the game with 38 points, eight rebounds and five assists but it wasn’t enough as the Pacers edged the Heat with the 84-83 victory.

David West made the biggest shot of the night as he knocked down only his fourth three of the season to put the Pacers up four with .50 seconds remaining. Chris Bosh made a three of his own to cut the lead to 1 with .20 seconds remaining. The Heat fouled Pacers guard George Hill who missed both free throws. With .2 seconds on the clock, James got the inbounds pass and threw it to Bosh who shot an airball with the game on the line.

The refs made some questionable calls throughout the game, especially the ejection Lance Stephenson caught for screaming, “what!” after a play. Dwayne Wade seemed to have snitched on Stephenson to get the Brooklyn native to pick up his second technical and the ejection. Stephenson finished the game with 15 points for the Pacers.

This game came down to the role players on both teams just like the potential Eastern Conference Finals match up between these two teams will. Newcomer Evan Turner put together a nice run in the fourth quarter and finished the game with eight points. Roy Hibbert had a monster game as he dropped 13 first quarter points and finished with 21. Paul George led the way with 23 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers and this monster dunk over James.

For James and the Heat, this loss puts Miami three games behind the Pacers for the top spot in the East. The Heat also drop to 7-8 this month with the loss. Ray Allen was out this game with the flu which threw off the line up and rotation for the Heat a bit. Regardless, this was still a very winnable game for them.

Wade scored 15 points for the Heat and didn’t play his best basketball.  Bosh finished the game with a mediocre eight points on 3-11 shooting. Bosh was the third highest scorer for the Heat and these types of all around performances might not be enough for the Heat to take down the Pacers with a possible home court advantage going into the playoffs.

The Pacers and Heat will square off again for the last time this season in Miami on April 11th.

-Patrick Hazel (@pattywack25)

March 27, 2014  
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