Charles Trainor Jr./AP via The Miami Herald
Dwyane Wade (41 points) goes in for a dunk as the Heat eliminate Indiana in Game 6 and head to the Eastern Conference finals.
INDIANAPOLIS - There is nothing S-O-F-T about LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, that's for sure. The Indiana Pacers, however, are another story.
Undermanned, slightly banged up and definitely on edge, Miami's two superstars willed the Heat past the Indiana Pacers to earn a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year.
Wade had his best game of the season, scoring 41 points and LeBron added 28 as Miami eliminated Indiana 105-93 despite Chris Bosh sidelined with an injury and his back-up, Udonis Haslem, serving a one-game suspension.
The Pacers were at full strength and had the added motivation of being called “S-O-F-T†by Larry Bird following their no-show performance in Game 5. Indiana had everything working in their favor to force a Game 7 on Saturday in Miami. Everything, that is, except James, the NBA's reigning Most Valuable Player and Wade, a former Finals MVP. That dynamic pair carried Miami which is now halfway home to winning the title it failed to capture last year. The Heat will open the conference finals in Miami on Monday against either Boston or Philadelphia.
The three days off are crucial for Miami, which is keeping its fingers crossed that Bosh, out indefinitely with an abdominal strain, could return at some point in the series. Also, Wade last week had his left knee drained while LeBron injured his left foot and ankle in the third quarter when he fell into a cameraman under the basket.
The Heat has now won three straight games after falling behind 2-1 in the series and if LeBron and Wade continue to play at this level they should be back in the Finals.
Wade was nothing short of brilliant, showing off his full array of shot making skills. He had scored 32 points through three quarters and then watched as his teammates put together the decisive run at the end of the period.
Wade went to the bench with just under four minutes remaining in the third and with the score tied at 66. Chalmers tap in gave Miami the lead and started a 13-3 Heat run to end the period. Mike Miller knocked down his fourth 3-pointer during the spurt and Chalmers ended the quarter with a corner three at the buzzer.
By the time Wade returned with 10:36 left to play, Miami's lead was 81-73. On Miami's ensuing possession, LeBron scored on finger roll to make it a 10-point game. Indiana cut it to five but lacked poise when it mattered most. They also lack a proven go-to-scorer. Miami, meanwhile, has two.
Wade made 17 of 25 shots and grabbed 10 rebounds. LeBron shot 12-for-23 with seven assists and six rebounds. David West led the Pacers with 24; George Hill added 18 and Danny Granger 15 as Indiana trailed over the final 15 minutes. Mario Chalmers scored 15 and Mike Miller 12 for Miami, which dressed only 11 players.
Haslem was suspended one game for a hard foul in Game 5 while back-up center Dexter Pittman began serving his three-game suspension for a flagrant foul in Game 5. The suspensions of Haslem and Pittman meant that Ronny Turiaf, who spent last season with the Knicks, was promoted to the starting lineup while Juwan Howard saw action in the first half.
Miami also decided to dress Eddy Curry, the former Knicks who has appeared in just 24 games the last three seasons. In fact, Curry is still waiting to make his playoff debut which didn't happen last night and probably never will.
Both teams came in with a chip on their shoulder. The Pacers had been called soft by their legendary team president while Erik Spoelstra was fuming that the NBA suspended two of his players for hard fouls but are ignoring the hard fouls committed on his two superstars, LeBron and Wade.
"The league does not have a problem with hard fouls on our two main guys," Spoelstra said. "In nine games now there's been over a dozen hard fouls to the face, some of the tomahawk variety, some have drawn blood. They don't have a problem with it so we don't have a problem with it. We'll focus on what we can control."
On Wednesday, the league suspended Haslem one game and Pittman three games for committing flagrant 2 fouls during Miami's Game 5 victory. Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough committed a flagrant foul on Wade that was upgraded to a flagrant 2 but did not result in a suspension.
"I mean, Hansbrough, it's not the first time he's gone after one of our players this year," James said on Thursday. "We have two guys suspended and basically they have no one suspended."
Of course, opposing players and coaches have been complaining for two years that James and Wade, the Floppsey Twins - are the beneficiary of more than their fair share of foul calls. The two All Stars have a habit of embellishing fouls by flopping.
Hansbrough, however, did draw blood with his first half foul on Wade. Less than a minute later, Haslem delivered his hard foul on Hansbrough. Pittman waited until the closing minutes to clothesline Pacers guard Lance Stephenson, who had drawn the ire of Miami players for giving LeBron the choke sign after James missed a crucial free throw in Game 3.
When you feel someone is taking a shot at one of your guys, your first reaction is want to get them back, you want to retaliate," Wade said. "As you see, that doesn't always work. It is always the second guy to get in trouble."
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