NBA: Pacers take G2, tie series with Miami, 1-1
LeBron James pulls up for a jumper against Ian Mahinmi (28) and Sam Young (4).
The Miami Heat dropped their first game in the 2012-13 NBA playoffs on Friday, losing to the Indiana Pacers, 93:97, in Miami, to even their best-of-seven series at 1 game each. The clubs will now head to Indianapolis for Games 3 and 4, to be held Sunday and Tuesday.
Roy Hibbert put up a 29P/10R double/double in leading the Pacers to a Game 2 victory, shooting 10 of 15 from the floor and 9 of 10 from the line. On the other side, LeBron James tallied 36 points and 8 rebounds, but he committed two key turnovers in the heat of the battle down the stretch that secured the win for Indiana.
The Pacers outshot and outrebounded Miami, with free throws being the major difference in the contest. Indiana connected on 26 of 32 (81.2%) from the line, while the Heat shot 18 of 26 (69.2%). From the floor the hosts were 33 of 66 (50.0%) and the Heat were 34 of 73 (46.6%). On the glass, Indiana held a 39-32 advantage. One interesting stat, Indiana only got five points off the bench, while Miami picked up 19.
The Pacers ran off six unanswered early in the first to take a 9:14 lead, then shortly after hit 10 in a row to build a 14:24 margin. Miami went on a small run of their own a the end of the first, cutting their 10-point deficit to six, outscoring the Pacers 6:2 in the final minute.
Mid-way through the second quarter the Heat ran off six unanswered and knotted the score at 37 on a Chris Bosh triple. The Pacers countered with a 1:14 run of their own to get back up, 38:51 with just under two minutes to play in the first half. The Heat outscored Indiana 9:2 in the final minute and a half, with Mike Miller knocking down three-ball at the buzzer to cut the lead from nine to six, 47:53.
Three minutes into the third 10 Bosh dropped in a hook shot, then after a stop on the other end he came down and sank a lay-up and completed the three-point play with a free throw after getting fouled by George West. James picked off a bad pass from George Hill, took the ball part way down the court, dished it off to Mario Chalmers, who dropped it back to a hard cutting James for a dunk, cutting the gap to two. Indiana got their lead back up to five with 5.1 seconds on the clock until James dropped in a long three at the buzzer to bring the score back to a two-point difference with Indiana up, 74:76.
James got the first points of the fourth with a lay-up to knot the score at 76. Hill sank a floater, then the current NBA MVP hit a three-pointer to put the Heat up one, 79:78, for their first lead in the game since 9:8 early on. Mid-way through the final frame the Heat went up by four with another Bosh triple, 88:84. Stephenson countered with a long-ball and Hibbert hit a layup to give the Pacers the lead back. Hill connected with two charity tosses with 48.9 seconds to play putting the Pacers up two. On the next time down the court West picked off a James pass, but the Pacers were whistled for a shot clock violation giving the Heat the ball back with 17.6 seconds remaining. Hill picked off another bad pass from James and got fouled. He sank a pair of singles to give the Pacers a four-point lead with 8.3 seconds to play. Bosh got the last shot of the contest with a three attempt, but came up empty, securing the Pacers’ win.
Hibbert led the way for Indiana with 29 point and 10 rebounds, George scored 22, Hill added 18, West dropped in 13 points and 7 rebounds, Stephenson tallied 10 points and 8 rebounds.
James was game-high with 36 points, while adding 8 rebounds. Bosch added 17, and Wade dropped in 14.