The Miami Heat are in position to advance to the NBA finals after winning Game 5 at home in Florida against the Indiana Pacers and now the team is up 3-2 in the series with Game 6 coming on Saturday night in Indiana.
The Pacers looked as if they were in control after taking a lead into the halftime, but LeBron James proved why he is the MVP of the league after taking over in the third quarter and completely dominating Indiana. James scored or assisted on 25 points in the quarter and the Heat ended up outscoring the Pacers 30-13 and that deficit was too much to overcome and Miami won the game 90-79 after 30 points from James. He led the team in scoring, rebounding and assists once again with eight boards and six assists and took over at the most important juncture for Miami to avoid the 3-2 deficit in the series. Miami will be a man down in Game 6 after Chris Andersen was suspended for shoving Tyler Hansbrough and James will need to step up even more for the Heat to win.
Indiana plays better at home in the playoffs, but the Heat know how to win on the road after taking Game 3, but after the way the team played on the road in Game 4, things could end up tougher for James and company and if the Pacers win Game 7 will be on Monday night. The Pacers will rely on Roy Hibbert and Paul George on Saturday night and the team needs George to do what he did in Game 5 when he led the team in scoring, rebounding and assists with 27 points and 11 boards on the night. Hibbert dealt with some foul trouble in the game and he apologized to fans after the game and said that he would do his best to force a Game 7.
The Heat have been to the finals over the past two seasons and James won his first championship and now he will be determined to get another if the team can win on Saturday. The Spurs are waiting in the finals after defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western conference finals and the team could have a chance to play James once again after sweeping the Cavaliers in 2007 in the finals. The Heat usually play their best basketball when the games get tough and in closeout games they have won six straight, including in the East finals last year.
The finals will start up on Thursday no matter how many games the Pacers-Heat series ends and Miami will be looking to avoid losing two games in a row for the first time since January and that would be the only way Indiana could advance in the series. The Heat didn't win a game in Indiana in two tries during the regular season, but that was no issue in Game 3 and the team will be looking to do it again on Saturday night. The Pacers had a four point lead heading into the third quarter when James took over the game and after going on a 30-10 run the team took a lead that they never gave back to Indiana.