Heat heading to finals on hot hand of D- Wade
INDIANAPOLIS — There was nothing soft about Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat.
Wade scored 41 points, Lebron James chipped in 28 and the Heat finished off the Indiana Pacers, locking up a return trip to the Eastern Conference finals with a 105- 93 victory in Game 6 on Thursday night.
The Heat wrapped up the bestof7 series and will face either Boston or Philadelphia in the next round starting in Miami on Monday. Of course, nothing less than an NBA title will make for a satisfying summer in South Beach. Two series down, two to go. The Heat rallied from an early 11- point deficit, riding the hot hand of Wade in the opening half. He scored 26 points by the break, tying Tim Hardaway’s 16- year- old franchise record for most playoff points in the first two quarters. James hit consecutive baskets with just over a minute remaining to close it out.
Next up, the Celtics or surprising 76ers. The Heat will get a much- needed chance to relax before worrying about the next opponent, which will be determined in Game 7 at Boston on Saturday.
David West led Indiana with 24 points and all five starters were in double figures. But that balance was overwhelmed by Wade and James.
In a game of spurts, the decisive one came in the closing minutes of the third quarter, the Heat pushing out to their third straight impressive win after falling behind 2- 1 in the series.
The Pacers tied it at 66 on Darren Collison’s 3- pointer, but it was all Heat the rest of the period. They closed on a 13- 3 run, capped by Mario Chalmers’ buzzer- beating 3 from the corner. Wade, who was on the bench getting his customary breather at the end of the quarter, leaped from his seat as the ball left Chalmers’ hand at the far end, raced along the baseline and pumped his fist when it swished.
As Chalmers raced toward the Miami bench, Wade greeted him near the free throw line with a low- five.
D- Wade dropped 11- of- 16 shooting on the Pacers in the first half, but also made sure the MVP stayed involved, dishing off a behind- the- back pass to James for a thunderous jam.
There was none of the nastiness that marked Game 5, when a bunch of flagrant fouls resulted in suspensions for two Miami players, co- captain Udonis Haslem and backup centre Dexter Pittman. Pacers president Larry Bird was so disgusted with his team’s performance that he accused them of going “soft.”
That wasn’t the problem this time. This was merely a Miami team on a mission, a mission that began in the summer of 2010 when the Heat signed James and Chris Bosh to join Wade in a seemingly unbeatable Big Three. The Pacers simply didn’t have enough to match the Heat, even with the Big Three down to the Big Two because of an injury to Bosh.
Mike Miller stepped up to provide some quality minutes, scoring 12 points on four 3- pointers, and when he wasn’t in the game, he stretched out along the baseline to cope with his various aches and pains, more comfortable that way than sitting in a chair.
When coach Erik Spoelstra called his number, Miller summoned several of his teammates to help lift him up.