The Miami Heat have been looking like a championship basketball team throughout the NBA playoffs and that has continued in the Eastern Conference finals, as the team is now up 2-1 on the Indiana Pacers and have the chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead with a win in Game 4.
LeBron James has been fantastic again while winning the MVP and he has been the focal point for the Heat as they try to repeat as champions. Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade have been exactly what the team needs when it needs them, while names like Norris Cole, Chris Andersen and Mario Chalmers all have contributed in big ways. Andersen has yet to miss a shot in the conference finals, while Chalmers has hit a number of big threes in the playoffs.
The team is coming off of a big 114-96 victory in Game 3 on Sunday and now they have the chance to put the Pacers in an even tougher spot with a victory in Game 4. James led the way with 22 points, while Wade had eight assists and Andersen had nine rebounds. The Pacers got 21 points from David West and 17 rebounds from Roy Hibbert, but that wasn't enough to win and now the team will have to rally like the Heat did last year against them. The Pacers went up 2-1 in their series before losing the next four and it is unlikely that the Heat will do that this time.
The Heat were dominant in Game 3 and outscored the Pacers in every quarter and they ended up putting up a team record first half with 70 points, the most scored since dropping 68 in 2006 and they also had their best scoring quarter of the playoffs with 36 points in the second. The deficit was too much for the Pacers to come back from and now they must take care of business at home, where Miami did not start playing well till Game 3. The Heat lost both games in Indiana during the regular season and now they have won one to drop the Pacers to 6-1 at home in the playoffs.
The Spurs started fast and finished strong as they seized the Western Conference Finals with a 4-0 best-of-seven triumph that put them back in the NBA finals for the first time since 2007.
Parker was sensational in making 15 of his 21 field goal attempts and Tim Duncan added 15 and eight rebounds in the clinching game.
San Antonio has earned an extended rest period as they now await the winner between Miami and Indiana in the East for a championship matchup that does not begin until June 6.
Having squandered a 2-0 series lead in last season's West finals, San Antonio were determined to finish the job this time around.
The veteran squad took a 24-14 lead after the first quarter and did not blink when the Grizzlies made a late push.