Heat vs. Pacers: Game 6 Highlights, Twitter Reaction and Analysis

The Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers defined the phrase "back and forth" with their Game 6 effort, but the Miami Heat eventually came out on top in the end.

With its 105-93 victory, Miami won the series and advance to the Eastern Conference finals to face the winner of Boston and Philadelphia.

The Pacers got out to an early lead in the first before the Heat climbed back into it. After that, both teams essentially traded off four-minute spurts.

Finally, the Heat started to pull away at the end of the third quarter and never looked back. 

Let's take a closer look at this exciting game.

Video Highlights

Roy Hibbert was probably smart not to challenge Dwyane Wade on this first-half dunk.

Hibbert, of course, had his own impressive dunk too. Early in the first quarter, he put down this reverse dunk to put his team up big. 

Twitter Reaction

Hardwood Paroxysm pointed this out, and I was surprised by it as well:

"

Bad signs early. Lot of contact being allowed inside at both ends. Would have thought they'd be quicker.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) May 24, 2012"

D-Wade and Paul George both had some early contact that wasn't called, and considering all of the antics from Game 5, it was surprising the refs weren't calling things tighter at the beginning.

The Indy Star's Mike Wells was right on both counts with this tweet:

"

Vogel's complaining about a travel the refs missed on LeBron. He should be in Paul George's ear about his constant sloppy passes.

"

"— Mike Wells (@MikeWellsNBA) May 24, 2012"

"
"

Yes, LeBron traveled on the play, but George has also been a shadow of his regular-season self. 

Quick, who's the bigger flopper: Dwyane Wade or Reggie Miller? It's a question that the New York Daily News' Frank Isola brings up, although I'm thinking he might be a little biased. Reggie didn't treat New York very well:

"

Pacers fans chanting "He's a flopper" at Dwyane Wade. They should know flopping here. Does the name Reggie Miller ring a bell?

— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) May 24, 2012"

With 26 points, Dwyane Wade had a pretty darn productive first half, as ESPN's Tom Haberstroh points out:

"

The most Dwyane Wade has ever scored before halftime? 31 points against ... wait for it ... the Pacers, Feb. 15 2011.

— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) May 24, 2012"

Miami Heat broadcaster Eric Reid pointed out that what Wade did tonight resembled what he did back in 2006:

"

We saw it in 2006, 6 yrs later seeing it again.@DwyaneWade taking over. His best gm of2012 Playoffs when Heat needs it. 39 pts, not over.

— Eric Reid (@EReidMiamiHeat) May 24, 2012"

If he continues to play like this, the rest of the league should probably be nervous. 

Grades for Key Heat Players

LeBron James: A

He didn't have the gaudy numbers he put up in Games 4 and 5, but it was still a pretty dang impressive night.

James finished with 28 points on 12-of-23 shooting to go along with six rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

Throw in his solid defense on a variety of positions, and there isn't much more you could ask from James. I would have liked to see him get a little more aggressive on offense, which he ended up doing in the fourth quarter, but that's nitpicking. 

Dwyane Wade: A

Well, he single-handedly kept Miami in the game in the first half with his huge performance, so he gets credit for that.

It was a relatively quiet second half for Wade until he put the Pacers away late in the forth quarter. He still finished with 41 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

The small concern is the five turnovers, but when you shoot an unheard of 17-of-25, you can't have a bad game. 

Grades for Key Pacers Players

David West: B+

The Pacers lost this game, but it wasn't because of David West. A key part for Indiana in this one was getting West and Hibbert the ball inside as much as possible. When the Pacers did that, it worked.

West finished with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting, and he would have benefited from a little more action inside. 

Danny Granger: B-

Granger had a terrific start to this game, knocking down three or four very early shots, but he pretty much disappeared after that and got into foul trouble.

Still, you have to give him credit for playing a taxing 38 minutes on a bum ankle and still being efficient from the field. He finished with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting.

Throw in four rebounds and four assists, and it was a gutsy performance from the forward.

Deciding Factor: Turnovers

So, when you play a team like the Miami Heat, or any team that is dangerous on the fast break, you can't turn it over 20 times like the Pacers did.

The Heat only ended up with 11 fast-break points, but the damage was done. The Pacers are already fairly inconsistent on the offensive end, and they can't afford to waste so many possessions.

Cut those turnovers to below double digits, and the Pacers win this game. Simple as that.  

Game MVP: Mike Miller

Oh, yeah, bet you weren't ready for this one. 

Wade and LeBron were their normal dominant selves, but that's to be expected. Miller, however, gave the Heat some unexpected production off the bench.

He finished with 12 points, and his four three-pointers really helped keep Miami in the game early. If he didn't knock down his early open shots, things would have gone a lot differently in this one.

OK, call him the Most Valuable Role Player. But can't Mike Miller get an award at least once?

It's the type of underrated role-player performance that the Heat need moving forward.

What's Next: Game 1

The Heat will play the winner of Boston and Philadelphia in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. The game will be in Miami.