Pacers hold off Heat's charge and even series

| Thursday May 30, 2013 00:00

Somehow, though, after the Pacers' 99-92 win Tuesday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse effectively turned the East finals into a three-game series, there's a far different feel than there was in 2012. On both sides of this growing rivalry, the intensity has been heightened.'It was, like this whole series has been, just great play after great play after great play,' Pacers Coach Frank Vogel said. Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra said simply, 'It's playoff competition at its best.' For the Pacers to advance to the finals against the San Antonio Spurs, at some point they'll have to hang a losing streak on the Heat. Miami hasn't lost consecutive games since early January.

If LeBron James was under enormous pressure to win his first championship last season, the expectations for him and his team have only swelled. A 53-8 record since Jan. 10 will do that. 'We were able to come here and get home court,' James said, a reference to the Heat's 114-96 victory in Game 3. 'We feel good about that. It's a three-game series now, with two on our home floor if needed. We look forward to Game 5.'A year ago in Game 4, the Pacers raced to an early lead but ultimately lost the game as James and Dwyane Wade combined for 70 points and 27 rebounds. On Tuesday, the Pacers jumped out to an 11-0 edge, and this time they protected their home court in eye-opening fashion. They outrebounded the Heat, 49-30, limited James in the post-up game and finished down the stretch as the team with better composure.

The teams exchanged runs in the fourth quarter. The Pacers led by 81-72 early before Miami went on a 14-2 spree. With 5 minutes 13 seconds to play, the Heat held an 89-86 advantage, but the Pacers went on an 8-0 tear and never trailed from there.'We knew we were going to take their punches,' said Pacers guard George Hill. 'And we knew we were going to have to throw punches back.' Spoelstra lamented the fourth-quarter lead that disappeared. 'They got us there in the fourth,' he said. 'We got what we wanted; it was a fourth-quarter lead, 89-86, going down the stretch. And they made bigger plays.' The Pacers were clutch when it mattered most. Roy Hibbert (23 points, 12 rebounds) played like the best player on the floor in the fourth quarter. Lance Stephenson (20 points, 9-of-15 shooting) had his best outing since he scored 25 points in Indiana's closeout game against the Knicks.

James scored 24 points to lead Miami before fouling out with 56 seconds to play. Mario Chalmers had 20, his high game of the playoffs. It was the first time James had fouled out since last June, in a playoff game against the Celtics. 'They did a good job of taking away our first option,' James said. 'Sometimes our second option.I believe, though, that we had some really good looks and some of them just didn't go down. You give a lot of credit to their D.' The game picked up intensity as Indiana closed the third quarter on a 23-10 run. With the score 71-67 in favor of Indiana, James closed in on a Hill breakaway and swatted his layup attempt out to center court.

George and Ray Allen collided going for the ball, with George whistled for a foul. As George smacked the flood in frustration, Vogel gestured angrily from the bench and was called for a technical foul.In the final moments of the quarter, James threw a left elbow as he dribbled by West and was hit with a foul. ThePacers inbounded under their own basket with two seconds on the clock, giving Stephenson just enough time to nail a 3-pointer from the corner as time expired. Indiana led, 77-70. With this series tied, all the pregame talk looking ahead to a possible Heat-Spurs final suddenly seems premature. The focus is on Game 5 of a series that looks every bit as competitive as it did after the Pacers' Game 2 win in Miami. 'The most important game is Game 5,' West said. 'And we're going to do whatever we have to do to win that ballgame.' (New York Times)