The Miami Heat are coming off of a tough and physical loss to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night and despite being handled a bit, LeBron James and company are ready to rebound with a win on Thursday in Game 5 in Florida.
James ended up fouling out during the physical game and he led the team in scoring yet again with 24 points in the 99-92 defeat and now the Heat must win two of three games to advance to the finals for the second straight year. The team will be going for the third straight year after losing to the Dallas Mavericks and James is looking for his second straight title after winning MVP this season as well. If the Heat advance, James will face the Spurs again after getting swept back in 2007, the last time San Antonio was there, while James was with the Cavaliers.
Dwyane Wade had a bad travel at the end of the game that sealed it for the Pacers and he will be looking for his third career title if the Heat can advance. Ray Allen came over to give some championship depth to the Heat and he led the team with seven rebounds in the loss, while Roy Hibbert came through with 23 points for the Pacers, while Paul George, who was once traded from the Spurs, led with six assists.
The Heat and Pacers are playing against after last year when Indiana was up 2-1 and the Heat won the next three games and now the Pacers are trying to do the same. The team is 7-1 at home this playoffs and Miami has won just one game there all year, coming in Game 3 after losing twice in the regular season. People like to count Miami out when they look down, but the team will be ready to rebound and the bench with Norris Cole and Chris Andersen have been excellent, while the Pacers have been battling with Hibbert and Paul George.
The Spurs are back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2007 and if the Heat advance San Antonio will play LeBron James again after sweeping out the Cavaliers in four games during that series. The Spurs advanced after winning Game 4 against the Grizzlies 93-86 earlier in the week and Tony Parker led the way yet again with 37 points in the game, while Tim Duncan was excellent for San Antonio to give them the win. Ginobili, Duncan and Parker are back in the finals again after winning three times together and now the trio has the chance to add a fourth title. Parker has been the MVP for the Spurs in the playoffs and he missed just six shots while making all six of his free throws. The team was able to make up for last season when they were up 2-0 on the Thunder and then lost the next four games.
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
