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Heat vs Pacers Game 7 preview

Heat vs Pacers Game 7 is Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET

As the final horn in a Game 6 loss to the Indiana Pacers was sounding, LeBron James walked toward several of his Miami Heat teammates to shake some hands and share a couple of quick words.

His message was clear: Get ready for Game 7.

Here comes the ultimate game. To the winner, a trip to the NBA Finals. To the loser, an offseason loaded with regret. It’s that simple now for the champion Heat and the confident Pacers, who meet in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals Monday night in Miami—a perk the Heat earned by finishing with the league’s best record this season.

“Each and every year there are 30 teams that would love to be a part of this, to have one game to advance to the NBA Finals,” James said. “And there’s two teams that’s in this position. And it’s something that you can’t substitute, this feeling. You can’t substitute the atmosphere that we’re going to be in on Monday night for both teams. We should all cherish this moment.”

When it’s over Monday, only one club will be cherishing the outcome.

For the Heat, it’s a chance to move into the finals for the third straight year and keep hope alive of winning a second straight title. For the Pacers, it’s a chance to cap what would surely go into the books as one of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history, considering that they finished 16 1/2 games behind the Heat in the regular season.

None of that matters much now. The Pacers have beaten Miami five of nine times this season. They need a sixth, or else it was all for naught.

“It is a closeout game and an elimination game,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “Our approach right now is not if we lose we’re out—our approach is if we win, we get to the finals. And that’s what we’re going for. We’re going to give our best shot and try to win the Eastern Conference championship.”

Monday’s winner will open the NBA Finals on Thursday against San Antonio.

Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

On the court, though, Hibbert has had nothing to apologize for, dominating play inside while the Heat are struggling in countless ways.

Dwyane Wade’s sore right knee – which has been an issue for about three months now – is not getting better anytime soon, and he’s stopped even wanting to discuss how it’s affecting his game. Chris Bosh said he needed to get back in the gym Sunday and regain some lost rhythm. Wade is averaging 12 points on 32 percent shooting in his last three games, Bosh just 6.3 points on 24 percent shooting in that same span.

”Just got to come out and play to win,” Wade said. ”It’s one game for both teams.”

Said James, when asked about the other two parts of Miami’s Big Three: ”I mean, we can state the obvious. They’re both struggling.”

They’re hardly the only Heat players who picked the wrong time of year to go into a slide. Ray Allen is shooting 13 for 46 in this series, Shane Battier is at 2 for 16, and they’re a combined 9 for 39 from 3-point range against the Pacers.

Reported by the Associated Press

The Heat did not hold a formal practice on Sunday, but Bosh, who has scored just 19 point in his past three games, arrived early to AmericanAirlines Arena to study film and dissect any area of his game that might help him improve his rhythm, which is conceded on Saturday “just seems off.”

“It’s been like that the whole series,” Bosh said Saturday night. “And now I have to go find it. I’ve got 48 hours to do that.”

Bosh is shooting 23.8 percent (5 of 21) since Game 4. His counterpart, Pacers center Roy Hibbert, is shooting 72.5 percent in his past three games while averaging 23 points per game. Hibbert scored 11.9 points per game during the 2012-13 regular season.

“I have to get back in the gym and work on my game,” Bosh said. “That’s about the only thing that will help me now.”

Bosh has scored in single digits in each of his past three games (seven, seven, five). It’s something that hasn’t happened since his rookie season. On Sunday, Spoelstra took the blame for Bosh’s lack of offense.

“That’s on me,” Spoelstra said. “I’ve got to get him in spots where he can be comfortable and feel comfortable. One of the greatest strengths about all of us is we own it. The players and staff alike have been through situations where we’ve failed.

Reported by the Miami Herald

Underdog Pacers giving the Heat a true test

The Heat ought to be peaking as it weaves its way through the playoffs toward a third consecutive appointment in the climactic NBA Finals.

Instead, Miami is regressing.

The Heat looked like a team adrift for large portions of a 91-77 Game 6 loss Saturday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Now the Heat faces the migraine of Game 7 in Miami on Monday as the San Antonio Spurs drum their fingers impatiently. Or, maybe they are licking their lips.

LeBron James was whistled for charging into Roy Hibbert in the closing minutes. He sprinted away from the official, spitting mad, looking like he would rip off his headband and tear it apart. Then he and assistant coach David Fizdale were assessed technical fouls for protesting too much. The sequence captured the harried state of a team under unaccustomed duress.

Miami will be favored to close it out back home by the bay. Still, the buts continue to outnumber the baskets.

Worrisome signs are not going away.

Foremost among them, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have turned into the Other Two in this series. They shot a combined 1 for 10 in the first half, were not factors when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter and finished with a total of 15 points, six rebounds, five turnovers and one assist.

Reported by Linda Robertson of the Miami Herald

Miami Heat prepare for Game 7 battle Monday

History provides hope. It also provides a warning.

In a similar situation last season in the Eastern Conference finals, the Miami Heat returned to AmericanAirlines Arena in a winner-take-all Game 7. After a 13-point victory over the Boston Celtics, they were on to the NBA Finals and, ultimately, the franchise’s second championship.

The difference is that victory came in the wake of a rousing 19-point victory in Boston, a Game 6 when LeBron James scored 45 points.

This time the Heat enter Monday’s 8:30 p.m. Game 7 against the Indiana Pacers coming off a discouraging 91-77 loss at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, when James went for 29 points, but Dwyane Wade for only 10 and Chris Bosh just five, the lowest combined total for the latter two as teammates since the Heat’s Big Three came together in the 2010 offseason.

“It’s an opportunity for us,” James said. “It’s an opportunity and we look forward to it.”

There is, of course, no other choice but to offer optimism, with coach Erik Spoelstra giving his players Sunday off, to be bolstered Monday by the return of backup center Chris Andersen, who was suspended from Saturday’s Game 6 for his Game 5 flagrant foul against Tyler Hansbrough.

Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Roy Hibbert apologizes for slur after Game 6

Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert has apologized for using a gay slur and cursing during his news conference after Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.

The team issued a statement from Hibbert on Sunday morning in which he said he was sorry for his ”insensitive remarks.”

”They were disrespectful and offensive and not a reflection of my personal views,” he said in the statement. ”I used a slang term that is not appropriate in any setting, private or public, and the language I used definitely has no place in a public forum, especially over live television.”

After Saturday night’s win, Hibbert ended a response to a question about his defense on Miami’s LeBron James with ”no homo.” He also referred to reporters as ”y’all (expletive).”

Reported by the Associated Press

Pacers stay alive in battle with Heat

The Indiana Pacers stayed alive in the Eastern Conference finals with a 91-77 win over Miami Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and will return to South Florida for a winner-take-all game on Monday.

Paul George scored 28 points and Roy Hibbert added 24 and 11 rebounds as Indiana survived a furious Miami rally midway through the second half and then pulled away in the final five minutes.

“We knew they would make a run,” George said. “That’s just us staying together, being poised. We shared the ball. We made huge plays when we needed to. It’s a credit to our guys playing their hearts out.”

James led the Heat with 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists but was mostly a solo performer as Miami endured a brutal offensive performance. The Heat shot 36.1 percent from the field and scored just 37 points in the second half. Indiana dominated the glass 53-32, including a 26-9 margin after halftime.

“We hate to be in this position,” James said, “but it’s an opportunity we look forward to. We worked all season to get home-court advantage. There are 30 teams that would love to have one game to advance to the NBA Finals. You can’t substitute this feeling, this atmosphere. At the end of the day, you just go out and have fun.”

Reported by Chris Goff of the Sports Xchange

Pacers beat Heat 91-77, force a Game 7

Indiana staggered Miami with one more big punch Saturday night.

Now the Pacers have a fighting chance to pull off a stunning playoff upset.

Roy Hibbert did everything but pull out the boxing gloves in Game 6, finishing with 24 points and 11 rebounds, and continually contesting Miami’s shots to help Indiana stave off elimination with an emphatic 91-77 victory over the defending champs.

Paul George scored 28 points, had eight rebounds and five assists, and the Pacers held Miami to 36.1 percent shooting as they booked a trip back to Miami for Game 7 on Monday night.

”Myself and David (West), we throw ourselves in the fray, in the paint. We like to muck it up,” Hibbert said. ”Paul and myself, we wanted to make sure we got this for him as well. We didn’t want this to be our last game.” …

The Pacers had a 53-33 rebounding advantage, outscored Miami 44-22 in the paint and limited Miami’s shooters to 16 of 54, 29.6 percent, from inside the arc.

James led the Heat with 29 points on 10-of-21 shooting. Nobody else scored more than 10…

With Chris ”Birdman” Andersen suspended for the game because of a shoving incident with Indiana forward Tyler Hansbrough on Thursday, the Heat couldn’t keep up with Indiana’s big rebounders inside. Even Lance Stephenson, who was not effective at Miami, finished with four points, 12 rebounds and four assists…

The Heat rallied early in the fourth, taking advantage of Indiana’s 1 for 6 start from the field. When Mike Miller hit back-to-back 3s, the Pacers’ lead was down to 70-64 and when James scored on a layup with 5:54 to play, the Heat were within 72-68.

But the run ended abruptly when George hit a 3, Miami’s Joel Anthony was called for a loose ball foul on the offensive end and David West grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a dunk to extend the lead to 77-68. Then came the technical flurry that finished it off.

West scored 11 points and had 14 rebounds despite playing with an upper respiratory infection that prompted Vogel to send him home early from the Pacers’ morning shootaround.

Reported by Michael Marot of the Associated Press

David West misses shootaround due to illness

Indiana Pacers starting power forward David West missed the team’s morning shootaround at Bankers Life Fieldhouse because of an upper respiratory infection.

West showed up for shootaround, but coach Frank Vogel sent him back home.

The Pacers say West will play in tonight’s pivotal Game 6 against the Miami Heat. The Pacers needs to win tonight to force a deciding Game 7 back in Miami on Monday.

“Any time a guy isn’t a hundred percent it’s a concern, but we know he’s a gamer,” Vogel said. “He’ll get his rest and his fluids this afternoon and be ready to go. I don’t anticipate it’s going to be an issue.”

Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star

Heat head to Indiana hoping to clinch spot in NBA Finals

Standing on the cusp of the NBA Finals has tended to agree with the Miami Heat in each of the last two seasons. When the Heat have gotten a game away from the title round, they’ve finished the task as quickly as possible.

And here they are again.

A third straight Eastern Conference title is now just one win away for the reigning champions, though if the way this series has gone so far is an accurate indicator, that win will hardly come easily. The Heat – without suspended forward Chris Andersen – will visit the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night, leading the best-of-seven East finals 3-2 and in position to close out their new rivals on their own floor for the second straight season.

”We’re desperate, too,” Heat forward and four-time NBA MVP LeBron James said Friday. ”We’re desperate to get back to the NBA Finals. So both teams are desperate in their own sense of they’re trying to keep their season alive and we’re trying to advance.”

The teams have alternated wins and losses through the first five games, and if that trend holds, then it’s the Pacers’ turn to prevail on Saturday and send the series back to Miami for a winner-goes-to-the-finals Game 7 on Monday night.

If the Heat – who have won each of their last six potential series-closeout games, including two in the 2011 and 2012 East finals – win, then the championship round against the San Antonio Spurs will begin in Miami on Thursday.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Chris Andersen suspended for Heat vs Pacers Game 6

Miami Heat forward Chris Andersen has been suspended one game without pay and had his Flagrant Foul One upgraded to a Flagrant Foul Two, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

Andersen knocked Indiana Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough to the floor, escalated the altercation by shoving Hansbrough, and resisted efforts to bring the altercation to an end. The incident occurred with 9:02 remaining in the second quarter of Miami’s 90-79 win over the Pacers at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Andersen will serve his suspension on Saturday, June 1 when the Pacers host the Heat in Game 6 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

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Spurs playing waiting game for NBA Finals opponent

The San Antonio Spurs can only watch, wait and practice until their NBA Finals opponent is decided and they can return to action after a nine-day break.

The Western Conference champions will play the winner of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals, led 3-2 by the Miami Heat over the Indiana Pacers, when the National Basketball Association (NBA) championship series begins June 6.

“Too much rest? Sure there’s concern,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich told reporters after practice on Thursday. “What are you going to do? You do your best.”

The long hiatus is a byproduct of San Antonio’s efficiency in dispatching the Memphis Grizzlies in a four-game sweep of the West final that concluded on Monday.

Tim Duncan, a stalwart of all four Spurs NBA titles during his 16 seasons in San Antonio, said he and his teammates are naturally keeping an eye on the Miami-Indiana series.

“Just trying to pick up a little on either squad,” Duncan told reporters. “Just trying to find anybody’s rhythm I can, see how they play, see what they do and just get a rhythm.”

Reported by Larry Fine of Reuters