The NBA Finals is half set after the San Antonio Spurs swept the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western conference finals and now the Miami Heat and the Pacers are tied at 2-2 in the East after Indiana took Game 4 at home on Tuesday night.
The Spurs will have a long break because of their sweep of the Grizzlies and also because the NBA scheduled the Finals to start Thursday, June 6 no matter how many games the East series goes. The Pacers and the Heat now have a best of three series after splitting the first two games, with each team winning one game on the road and one game at home. The two teams will play Game 5 on Thursday and Game 6 will be on Saturday with a possible Game 7 coming on Monday if the teams split the next two games. The first day of the finals will be just under a week later and the Spurs will have a lengthy layoff that some teams don't enjoy in the postseason, although players like Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili probably enjoy the rest.
Miami had a long layoff after sweeping out the Bucks in the first round in four games and then lost Game 1 against the Chicago Bulls before coming back to win the next four games. The Spurs could end up with home court advantage if the Pacers defeat the Heat, but if Miami wins they will take the advantage in the finals and that could be a huge benefit for them as they have played better at home than on the road. The Pacers came back with a big win in Game 4 after losing at home to Miami to go down 2-1 and now they are all tied at 2-2 after Indiana won 99-92 on Tuesday.
LeBron James led the Heat with 24 points in Game 3, but the physical play in the game ended up getting him fouled out by the end and Miami couldn't tie the game up to force overtime. James was in a tough position after picking up a foul with less than 10 seconds left in the first half and the calls in the first half were considered questionable by many. Dwyane Wade had a bad travel at the end of the game that ended any chance of Miami coming back and now the teams will have to advance by winning two of the next three. Ray Allen led the way with seven rebounds in the game while Wade added six assists. The Pacers got a big game from Roy Hibbert with 23 points, while George Hill had six assists.
Thursday, May 30 Pacers at Heat Game 5* TNT 8:30 ET
Saturday, June 1 Heat at Pacers Game 6* TNT 8:30 ET
Monday, June 3 Pacers at Heat Game 7* TNT 8:30 ET
2013 NBA Finals Schedule
BEST OF SEVEN (2-3-2)
Date Matchup TV Network Time
Thursday, June 6 NBA Finals Game 1 ABC 9 ET
Sunday, June 9 NBA Finals Game 2 ABC 8 ET
Tuesday, June 11 NBA Finals Game 3 ABC 9 ET
Thursday, June 13 NBA Finals Game 4 ABC 9 ET
Sunday, June 16 NBA Finals Game 5* ABC 8 ET
Tuesday, June 18 NBA Finals Game 6* ABC 9 ET
Thursday, June 20 NBA Finals Game 7* ABC 9 ET