Paul George and Roy Hibbert help Pacers smash Heat, force game seven.

Sunday, June 2, 2013
Pacers center Roy Hibbert altered numerous shots, but he had just one block against the Heat on Saturday--this layup attempt by Ray Allen. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN

INDIANAPOLIS -- There will be seven.

The Indiana Pacers came out from halftime down one and caught fire, carrying the momentum to a 91-77 win in game six against the Heat on Saturday.

Forward Paul George led the Pacers offensively, getting back on track after a long, grueling series so far.

Freed -- part of the time -- from the exhausting assignment of guarding the Heats' LeBron James, George was able to expend more energy on offense.

He made three-of-five 3-pointers, each more back-breaking than the last, and finished with 28 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.

"He's just one of the most complete players in the game and just exhibited his will tonight," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "I think he's learning from David West just in terms of exhibiting his will. ... Just to do whatever it takes to win a basketball game."

West missed the shoot-around the morning of the game with an illness and played with a 103 degree fever. He started off 0-for-6 from the field before finding his rhythm.

"His tank was on "E" from the time that he came into the building this morning," Vogel said. "It was evident once he got out there that he didn't have anything in the tank. But he was just competing and giving all he had, and he was rebounding the basketball, even if he wasn't making shots.

"I told him I've got to get him out near the end of the second quarter. I said, 'I've got to get you out. You have nothing tonight.' He said, 'No, leave me in. I'm all right. I'm good."

West finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds, but more importantly, the team went to him often down the stretch.

Miami, already a small team by design, was without reserve center Birdman Andersen and the Pacers worked the post enough with West and center Roy Hibbert to get power forward Udonis Haslem out of the game with foul trouble.

The Pacers continued to feed the ball to the post throughout the game, so even when West was ineffective, Hibbert was able to control the flow of the offense.

He finished with 24 points (11-for-21 shooting) and 11 rebounds.

Trailing 40-39 at halftime, the Pacers had played enough defense to be able to win but the offense was stagnant at times, with only George and Hibbert able to score.

Point guard George Hill hit a couple big shots to get a run started, shooting guard Lance Stephenson started controlling the glass--he finished with 12 rebounds--and the Pacers were able to quiet the Heat.

Miami's offense is based on dribble-drives to the basket and passes to perimeter shooters.

With Hibbert in the paint, the drives have been mostly ineffective against Indiana. The Pacers knew that, so the Heats' passes, during the third quarter, were all often being tipped, leading to steals and fast breaks.

"What separated us was us being able to get in transition and trying to strike early against Miami, because their half-court defense is tough," George said. "We found opportunities to strike early. And we really executed."

The Pacers built a lead to 15 late in the third quarter, but a few foolish plays late in the period cut the advantage to just 11 entering the fourth.

Miami continued to their run--17-4 total--into the fourth quarter, cutting the score to 72-68 with 5:59 remaining.

George responded with a three-point bucket from the left corner, then the Pacers defense regained control.

James got past his defender and drove to the basket, but Hibbert was ready to meet him at the rim.

"I knew he was going to go high hands, like he had been doing, so I went to a double-clutch to try to let him go down," James said. "Then I was able to go over the top. I don't have no idea why that was called an offensive foul. ... I thought me and Hibbert met at the mountaintop."

Hibbert jumped to defend James and altered the shot. A whistle blew and referee Tony Brothers signaled an offensive foul on James.

Heat forward LeBron James reacts to a technical foul call after sprinting to the opposite end of the court following an offensive foul in the fourth quarter against the Pacers on Saturday. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

The Heat star then took off in a sprint to the other end of the court, where he was quickly called for a technical foul.

I had to run down the court to stop from being kicked out," James said. "I thought it was a pretty bad call. ... (Running) just stopped me from being ejected. I think at that moment I just got away from the ref that called it."

An assistant coach for the Heat was also called for a technical foul, Hill sank both free throws and Hibbert added a layup to expand the Pacers' lead to 13 an effectively stop Miami's momentum.

"He's one of the, if not the best defensive big men in this league and I'm glad he's able to highlight that in this series," George said. "That's just him making a huge play at the rim.

"And then the refs calling a tech or whatnot, I didn't really know what was going on. I was just proud of the play that Roy made at the rim."

James was the only consistent offense the Heat had going. Guard Dwyane Wade and center Chris Bosh combined for 15 points on 4-for-19 shooting.

The only thing keeping the Heat in the game was the three-point shot, with a pair coming from the unlikely Mike Miller. Miami made 10-for-18 threes, but just 26-for-72 (36.1 percent) from the field.

The Pacers also pulled in 20 more rebounds than their visitor

The win tied the Eastern Conference championship series at three-all, with a deciding game seven on Monday to determine who will meet the San Antonio Spurs for the NBA championship.

Vogel said his team has a reason to be confident against the defending champs.

" There's a lot to be encouraged about in terms of this game and this series," he said. "If we just tighten the screws and do what we do we'll be tough to beat. ... (My halftime message was), 'Look, guys. We're not even playing our best, and it's a one-point game. So just tighten the screws and do what we do and we'll be tough to beat."

James said after the game that he is looking forward to the challenge of a game seven, which will be made slightly easier because they are home in Miami.

"Each and every year there are 30 teams that would love to be a part of this," he said, "to have one game to advance to the NBA Finals. And there's two teams that are in this position.

"It's something that you can't substitute this feeling. You can't substitute the atmosphere that we're going to be in on Monday night. ... We should all cherish this moment.

"At the end of the day, go out and play. Have fun. It's just a game of basketball."

Box Score

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: