The Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers were locked in a 2-2 series in the Eastern conference finals with Game 5 on Thursday night and after another tough game between the two teams, the Heat are now up 3-2 in the series.
LeBron James has been the MVP for the Heat during the playoffs and he continued that in Game 5 after leading the team in scoring through the first half. James is averaging over 25 points and he dropped 22 in Game 3 to lead the team to a 114-96 blowout victory for a 2-1 series lead, but following that game the Pacer came back to tie things up. Last season the two teams faced off in the second round and Indiana went up 2-1 in the series before Miami stormed back and won the next three games in a row to take the series. The Heat proved that they could win under pressure and after James took his first title he has played with even more intensity and drive and the Pacers have proven to be quite the opponent.
Miami had the best record in the East during the regular season and the Pacers came into the series with some confidence, as they went 2-1 against the team during the season with both wins coming at home and by double digits. The Heat finally won in Indiana in Game 3 despite the Pacers playing very well, especially Roy Hibbert, who had a double-double with 17 rebounds while David West led the team in scoring. Hibbert has proven to be one of the best centers in the league during the playoffs and he has recorded three straight double-doubles of 20 points and 10 rebounds to set a record in the round of the playoffs.
The Heat dominated Game 3 by outscoring the Pacers in every quarter and the team posted its best first half in years with a 70-point performance. The Pacers bounced back in Game 4 with a 99-92 victory and Indiana played physical with the Heat and ended up getting LeBron James to foul out of the game for the first time this playoffs. Amazingly James had only five fouls total on the road in the playoffs entering that game and he still ended up leading the team with 24 points on the night. Dwyane Wade led the team with six assists while Ray Allen was tops in rebounding. Wade has been playing while banged up and he had a tough travel call at the end that sealed the game for the Pacers.
Miami needs to get more production from their bench as well as more rebounding from Chris Andersen and Chris Bosh, who are the top two options on the inside for the Heat. The team ranked near the bottom of the league in rebounding this season while the Pacers were the top ranked team in the league in rebounds per game. Hibbert has been clutch for the Pacers late in games and he was again in the Game 4 victory when he grabbed three offensive boards to help keep possessions alive. Hibbert scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Game 4, while George Hill had six assists and the team got solid production from the bench.
