LeBron James played heroics in Game 1 as his triple double was barely enough to give the Miami Heat the 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Indiana Pacers 103-102. James finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists along with three blocks.
He drove the ball to the hoop in consecutive possessions as the Pacers didn't play Roy Hibbert in the paint. Coincidentally, the Heat took the win and James stole the spotlight from the youngster, Paul George.
George almost played hero in this game as the 23-year-old kept his cool twice. He hit the game-tying three in the fourth quarter. James avoided committing the foul and George made Ray Allen pay for missing a free throw that would have iced the game. George came up big again just seconds before James' game-winning layup as he was arguably fouled behind the arc and hit all his three free throws to give the Pacers the lead with just :02.2 seconds remaining in the overtime.
George finished with 27 points, four rebounds and five assists. He was aided by David West who scored 26. Hibbert added 19 in this game and controlled the board with 12 rebounds.
Dwyane Wade, who was fouled out on the George three free throws play, finished with 19 points accompanied by six rebounds and five assists in Game 1.
The Pacers led after the second and third quarters. They did it with hustle as they out-rebounded the Heat and were constantly around the boards. In the third quarter, the Heat started the period off on a 12-2 run as they took a five-point lead early in the second half. However, George stepped up and cut the Heat's run, helping the Pacers take a quick lead.
The game was sluggish as the Pacers and Heat turned the ball over. There were 25 turnovers between both teams at the half. It was a low scoring, sloppy game, which is how the Pacers play. They led 42-37 at the half.
The battle from the bench saw great play from Tyler Hansbrough and Chris Andersen. Both guys brought intensity and hustle off the bench. For the Pacers, Hansbrough added 10 points and help on the offensive end as he was around the glass grabbing offensive boards and finishing with high percentage shots. If you want to talk about high percentage shots, Andersen was feasting off assists from LeBron James and Norris Cole. Andersen had three blocked shots, but he also finished with 16 points as every time he scored it was either a dunk or a layup.
In the fourth quarter, the Heat's defense attacked the Pacers and they were active on offense as James drove to the basket. Though James was able to finish, Cole was having a relatively easy time getting by the first defender, but the Pacers were clogging the lane keeping the Heat guards from finishing strong at the basket.
The Pacers left their mark in this game as the Heat now realize how good they are. What a way to start the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 2 takes place Friday in Miami.
