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NBA EAST FINALS: PACERS DRAW FIRST BLOOD


PhilBoxing.com




INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers drew first blood in their Eastern Conference Finals showdown against their bitter rivals the Miami Heat Sunday afternoon at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Indiana conquered Game 1, 107-96, by unleashing a balanced attacked where all Pacers starters and one reserve scored double figures in points.

Paul George led the parade with 24 points and 7 dimes, big men David West and Roy Hibbert tallied 19 apiece with a combined 16 rebounds, and Lance Stephenson drilled 17 with 8 helpers. George Hill added 15 while C.J. Watson came off the bench with 11.

The Pacers stormed out of the gates in the first quarter, sinking 5 of 6 threes to take a 30-24 advantage after 12 minutes and 55-45 at the halftime break. The Pacers enjoyed their largest lead of 19 -- 81-62 --- with 2:01 left in the third quarter.

"We played we a great energy tonight. That's been an area where we lacked in this postseason, being consistent with our energy and consistency to start games. I thought we brought that tonight, brought an edge, brought an aggression at both ends of the floor. When a play broke down, we made an extra effort not just to take what was available but we pushed the effort a little bit and that's where we were able to get a good lead on this team," George told reporters after Game 1.

The Heat shot well from the field overall, 51.3 percent, but they missed 17 of their 23 triple attempts. But the backbreaker was the free throw shooting disparity as the Pacers went 29 of 37 from the charity stripe while the Heat was just 10 of 15.

"We were never in a rhythm where we can defend without feeling," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters in his postgame presser. He also credited the Pacers for their aggressiveness and for shooting well from the floor -- 35 of 68 overall and 8 of 19 from 3-point territory..

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade carried the Heat with 25 and 27 points, respectively, but Chris Bosh missed 8 of 12 field goals and struggled with just 9 points.

The Heat were outrebounded, 38-29, including a 7-4 edge on the offensive boards. Both teams finished with 23 assists while Miami had one less turnover with 11. (AD)

Photo: Roy Hibbert and Paul George, Pacers brothers in arms, combined for 19 and 24 points, respectively, to lead Indiana past the Miami Heat -- 107-96 - in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Adeline Deladisma.


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