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Philippines, 25 Apr 2024 |
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NBA -- Heat close in on 3rd straight NBA Finals trip By Rodene Ivan B. Cortes PhilBoxing.com Sat, 01 Jun 2013  NEW YORK -- The Miami Heat moved one game away from their third straight NBA Finals appearance by handling the pesky Indiana Pacers, 90-79, in the pivotal Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals Thursday night at the sold-out AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami. The task required a lot of heavy lifting from LeBron James, who finished with a spectacular 30 points, eight rebounds and six assists. James outscored outscored the entire Pacers team 16-13 in the third quarter where the Heat went on a 30-13 run that turned a 44-40 halftime deficit into a 70-57 advantage heading into the final 12 minutes of play. "James was pretty special tonight. There's no question about it. The whole team is special. They're one of the best teams this league has ever seen. We're enjoying competing against them," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said during the postgame press conference. "That's what I came here for, to be able to compete for a championship and we're one step away from doing it again," James said moments after he carried the Miami Heat on his back when their reign as defending champions was seriously threatened. With a 3-2 series lead, the Heat can close out the Pacers in Game 6 of this best-of-seven affair Saturday night at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis. The Heat's two other stars, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, struggled. Wade had only 10 points with three turnovers while Bosh, smarting a bad ankle, from a Game 4 mishap, tallied seven points and five rebounds. But Udonis Haslem picked up some of the slack with 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting and the Heat made 38 of 75 field goals, including 7-for-18 from 3-point range. The Pacers dictated the pace in the opening half and took a seven-point lead by throwing imposing their size over the smaller Heat. But when James went ballistic in the third quarter, Indiana didn't have any answers. Paul George was spectacular with 27 points, 11 rebounds and five assists but it wasn't enough to carry the Pacers, who made only 31 of 69 field goals and 5-of-13 threes. Center Roy Hibbert had 22 markers and six boards for Indiana while David West chipped in 17 and eight rebounds. But guards George Hill and Lance Stephenson combined for only five points. RIC) Photo: LeBron James finds a 7-foot-2 road block in Pacers center Roy Hibbert in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals Thursday night. LeBron had 30 points to lead the Heat over the Pacers, 90-79. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rodene Ivan B. Cortes.  |
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