Heat vs. Pacers: Players Who Must Step Up for Each Team in Pivotal Game 4

Following an 18-point loss at home on Sunday in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Indiana Pacers find themselves in desperate need of a win in Game 4 on Tuesday night.

Trailing 2-1 in their conference final series against the defending champion Miami Heat, the Pacers must win at home in order to even the series and move one win closer to reaching the finals. A loss would put Indiana on the brink of elimination and pull Miami within one win of a third consecutive NBA Finals berth.

But each team will need some timely contributions from some key players in order to pick up a win on Tuesday. 

Below we'll break down a trio of players who must step up for their respective team in a pivotal Game 4 showdown in Indianapolis. 

Paul George, Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers don't stand a chance of winning Game 4 on Tuesday if Paul George goes 3-of-10 from the field and turns the ball over five times again.

An emerging superstar, George must dominate the way he did in Miami, scoring 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting in the Pacers' Game 2 win on the road. George's 13 points in Sunday's Game 3 loss were the fewest he's scored since Indiana's Game 6 closeout win over the Atlanta Hawks in the first round.

While he did have eight assists in Game 3, Frank Vogel and the Pacers need George to be a scorer in order to have any success. The Miami Heat are too talented offensively to keep under wraps over the course of four quarters, adding pressure on George to score and to do so efficiently.

George needs to pour in 20-25 points on Tuesday night in order for the Pacers to win and even the series. As Indiana now finds itself trailing for the second time in this series, there's very little room for error for George and his teammates moving forward. 

Ray Allen, Miami Heat

Despite averaging over 10 points per game on 41 percent shooting from the field this postseason, veteran sharpshooter Ray Allen has been struggling in the offensive end against Indiana. 

In three games against the Pacers, Allen is averaging only 5.3 points per game on a dismal 26 percent shooting from the field. He is a combined 3-for-10 from beyond the arc in this series (via Ethan J. Skolnick):

Credit the Pacers, but don't excuse Allen.

Although the Heat have been able to take two of the first three games without Allen contributing much, Miami will need him to chip in offensively in Game 4 in order to take a commanding 3-1 series lead back to South Beach. 

Keep in mind that Allen averaged 16.5 points per game in the Heat's opening-round series win over the Milwaukee Bucks. His minutes and shot attempts have decreased since that series, but so has his efficiency.

Lance Stephenson, Indiana Pacers

Tuesday night marks Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, but the Indiana Pacers are still waiting for the Lance Stephenson that took over the conference semifinals to show up.

After averaging 11.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in Indiana's previous series win over the New York Knicks, Stephenson has gone cold and been largely ineffective. 

The high-energy shooting guard, who is capable of making eye-popping plays from time to time, is averaging two steals per game, but his lack of production on the offensive end has been alarming.

Through three games against Miami, Stephenson is shooting just 25 percent from the field, averaging eight points per game.

Even worse, after snaring 12 rebounds in Game 1 and eight boards in the Pacers' Game 2 win in Miami, Stephenson managed to reel in just one rebound in 34 minutes of action in Indiana's Game 3 blowout loss at home. 

As the starting shooting guard, Stephenson has the responsibility to deliver much more offensively, and if he doesn't in Game 4, you can bet that Indiana will be heading back to Miami in a big-time hole.

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