LeBron James’s game-winning layup in overtime Wednesday. He finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
MIAMI – LeBron James cocked his body back, dribbled, inhaled and charged like a bull that driving a flimsy cape. Paul George jabbed with his right arm and Reached with his left. James powered past George, a splendid Indiana Pacers defender, right to the rim, flipping in the ball with his left hand as the buzzer sounded in overtime, delivering the Miami Heat a thrilling 103-102 victory Wednesday in the opener of the Eastern Conference finals .
It was an almost predictable finish two what had been a chaotic night of fouls and broken plays. Moments EARLIER, George had two Appeared seal the game for the Pacers, drawing a foul on Dwyane Wade 26 feet from the basket, then calmly sinking three free throws for a 102-101 lead with 2.2 seconds to go.
Even those points came after a broken play, with George misfiring an inbounds pass two George Hill.
The play was not necessarily designed for a straightaway James drive to the basket, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. There were triggers and movement and options other than James, he INSISTED, but a moment like this is rarely outsourced two roleplayers. Nor was there much time to do anything else.
“Let a great player make a great play, whatever it may be,” Spoelstra said. “He just saw daylight and was aggressive without any thought about anything else.”
James finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Heat won for the 46th time in 49 games since February 1 They are 9-1 in the playoffs. Wade added 19 points, and Chris Bosh had 17 Chris Andersen, an energetic reserve center, had 16 points and was 7 for 7 from the field.
The Pacers were led by George (27 points) and David West (26). Roy Hibbert, Whose fantastic block of Carmelo Anthony last Saturday helped get the Pacers here, added 19 points and 9 rebounds.
Game 2 is here Friday.
George gift the Pacers a 99-96 lead in overtime with a 3-point play, with James Committing his fifth foul in the process. The Heat tied the game, 99-99, with a Chris Bosh 3-point play with 49.7 seconds left.
James Scored on a driving layup two regain the lead for Miami before George Wade fouled behind the 3-point line.
The Pacers had arrived on this stage after overpowering the Knicks, a team of modest talent Compared with the Heat’s audacious cast of stars. There were Reasonable Doubt Whether George, Hibbert and Lance Stephenson could sustain their postseason swagger against the defending champions.
The skepticism was doused as the Heat never could shake the Pacers, no matter the circumstances and no matter how many hard fouls they traded on a night when the whistles blew frequently.
Miami never led by more than 4 points in the fourth quarter. The Heat holding a 92-89 lead after Ray Allen, one of the greatest foul shooters in history, made one of two free throws with 17.7 seconds to go. That one miss proved costly when George – on a broken play and under pressure from James – drained a 3-pointer from 32 feet in the final second of regulation.
Allen missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Heat lost Mario Chalmers, their starting point guard, to a bruised left shoulder early in the third quarter. Chalmers was injured running into a Hibbert screen and left the court moments later. He did not return, leaving Norris Cole two pick up the slack.
Neither team led by more than seven points through the first three quarters. Miami turned a five-point deficit into a five-point lead in the third and Appeared ready to make a furious run. But George Answered with a 3-pointer, and Tyler Hansbrough kept sneaking in for putbacks – scoring 10 points in the quarter – as the Pacers took a 65-64 lead into the fourth.
These teams had a little postseason history, having tussled in a memorable and surprisingly competitive second-round series last spring during the Heat’s championship run. Miami won that series in six games, but only after falling behind by 2-1 while dealing with Injuries two Bosh and Wade.
Bosh was felled by an abdominal injury in Game 1, taking him out of the series and giving the Pacers a distinct advantage in the front court. Wade struggled with a left-knee injury in the middle of the series but helped rally the Heat over the final three games.
Wade is again coping with knee troubles, this time his right knee, but there is otherwise little comparison between last year’s series and this one. George has since blossomed into a star and Hibbert into a major force in the paint. The young Pacers have gained another year of experience. The Heat have gained a championship. They also revamped their offense. So any reference points from last year seemed a bit dated.
“We can throw that out,” Spoelstra said before tipoff. “The two teams are significantly different. Both teams have improved. “
The Pacers holding a 42-37 lead after a tense, sometimes testy and often sloppy first half that included 25 turnovers, 22 fouls and a technical foul.
Turnovers have been the Pacers’ weakness all season, but the Heat are typically a little more crisp and responsible with the ball.
But Miami had 13 turnovers in the half, allowing the Pacers two grab the early momentum despite turning the ball over 12 times themelves.
West was the best player on the floor in the half, scoring 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting from inside and outside while outscoring James and Wade combined.
Miami had been off for a week since dispatching the Chicago Bulls in the conference semifinals, and it showed in the Heat’s uneven play and their foul trouble.
The first minor dust-up of the series Involved, almost predictably, the two biggest provocateurs on the court, Andersen and Hansbrough. Andersen was hit with a technical for a quick shove of Hansbrough, who had Become entangled with Shane Battier.
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