THE SKINNY
It took an all-time performance from a duo of superstars to pull out a victory, and now the series has become tighter. With the West decided and Boston getting two cracks at sealing their series, the 2-2 matchup now gets all the attention. The Pacers couldn't do what they wanted to do while the Heat seemed to run slipshod over the Pacers reserve bigs. Now the series heads back to Miami for a very contested next two or three games.
THE LINEUPS
Point Guard
Setting the tone early with a long three, George Hill finished the game only 2-9 from the field. He played good defense, though, and Mario Chalmers was held to 8 points. Hill will have to get some more shots in as he was instrumental in the Pacers' best game of the series. When he is efficient, it's one more area where the thin Heat have to compensate for with star power, and at a certain point that resource is not enough by itself for a victory.
Shooting Guard
Paul George did much better going at the basket than he did shooting threes, which have seemingly abandoned him since April. Dwyane Wade got his knee drained and took advantage of a depleted Pacers interior to reassert himself this series. If he adds his usually dependable jumper to his performance, it will be a long day defensively for George. Paul has to be smarter or stronger going to the basket, as he has had opportunities turned away without drawing a foul.
Small Forward
Lebron did his thing. Granger did his thing. Lebron's thing was more than twice Granger's thing...
It seemed to take a lot out of Lebron, and with only one night off between games the rest of the series, the 40-minute performances might wear on Lebron. Hopefully it does so sooner rather than in the next round.
Power Forward
With West out, Haslem shined. West was saddled with foul trouble all game, and Haslem came out and took advantage of clean looks generated by Lebron and Wade. The Pacers have to go back to defending without fouling, and West must be on the floor in order to be the anchor that he is.
Center
Hibbert found himself on the bench a lot but still was effective in the little time he played. There cannot be a repeat in the next game. Joel Anthony managed to get some offense going, and that's just bad news for the Pacers.
THE BENCH
Collison came up big, but the rest of the bench had to play more minutes than they were used to. Lou and Tyler couldn't rotate and the Heat were getting shots inside the entire second half. Leandro Barbosa hasn't fit in as well as originally thought, and his poor shooting and second-guessing is one of the reasons the Pacers aren't holding on to leads when the bench steps in.
THE COACHES
Spoelstra made his adjustment, whether it was something in the offense or just giving his stars free rein. Vogel had two decisions that could be second-guessed, although I wouldn't. One was not having Collison in at the end. The other was not inserting his starting bigs earlier than the 7-minute mark. Being Frank, expect to see little deviation from the original plan, as the last game by most standards was an extraordinary case, even by MVP standards.
THE INJURY REPORT
Pacers
None.
Heat
Chris Bosh: Abdominal - No.
THE HEAVY MATTERS
-Short memory. Luckily no one feels like nitpicking at the Pacers' loss with a microscope so it will be easier to focus on the task at hand.
-Limit their role players. If anyone in addition to Lebron or Wade gets double-digits, it will be much harder to win.
-Defend without fouling. Refs will be inconsistent, so try to adjust to the crew working this game.
THE TRADITION: Best of 7
