Miami Heat vs. Indiana Pacers Game 6: Video Highlights and Recap
The Indiana Pacers held serve at home Saturday night, beating the Miami Heat 91-77 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals and forcing a Game 7 Monday in Miami.
Indiana played well enough in the first half, feeding off the energy in Banker's Life Fieldhouse on both ends of the floor. But some hot shooting from Miami—who went 6-7 on threes in the first quarter—and a dominant performance from LeBron James gave the Heat a 40-39 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, though, Indiana's steady play was finally rewarded—especially on the defensive end of the floor. They were aggressive and organized against Miami's potent offense, holding them to just 15 points in the frame, outscoring them by 14, and entering the fourth up by 13.
The Heat mounted a miniature comeback in the fourth, spearheaded by, of all people, former All-Star Mike Miller. The sparingly used sharp-shooter came off the bench, perhaps in a move of desperation, and promptly hit two three-pointers to pull Miami within six. They got as close as four, 72-68, a few possessions later when LeBron drove to the basket for a powerful bucket.
But Paul George hit a three-pointer on the other end, and from there it was all Indiana. The Pacers went on a 9-0 run to extend the lead to 81-68, effectively ended the competitive portion of the game. That run was fueled, in large part, by two technical fouls—one on LeBron James, one on a Miami Assistant Coach—incurred after LeBron was called for an offensive foul against Roy Hibbert.
Indiana out-rebounded Miami 52-33, getting double-digit rebounds from David West (14), Lance Stephenson (12) and Roy Hibbert (11), who also added 24 points. Paul George les the Pacers with a playoff career-high 28 points.
LeBron James had 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Miami, but got little help from his supporting cast. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined to go 4-for-19 from the field for a paltry 15 points (their lowest combined total since Bosh joined the Heat), six rebounds and one assist.
Player of the Game: SF Paul George (IND)
Tough not to give this to Roy Hibbert, who was his typical (at least for this series) dominant self on both ends of the floor, but Paul George played, perhaps, the best game of his young career.
He played every minute except the last one, at which point his high-profile matchup, LeBron James, was also already on the bench. Despite guarding LeBron on the other end—and doing as good of a job as is humanly possible—he was able to spearhead the offense in a variety of ways.
He finished with 28 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals on 11-for-19 shooting. He made three of his five three-pointers, too, adding an important element of spacing to the Pacers' offense.
What's Next?
Game 7 – Monday, June 3rd at 8:30 p.m. ET in Miami.
Winner advances to face the San Antonio Spurs in the 2013 NBA Finals.
