The Indiana Pacers lost a heartbreaker in the first game of their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Miami Heat but they stormed back in Game 2. Sunday’s Game 3 was perhaps he most lackluster game we’ve seen as it dramatically failed to live up to the first two games. The fourth game of the series was a return to glory not only for the intensity of the series but for the dominance of the Pacers as they took the game and ran with it to even things up once again.
Miami did make a game of things though as they remained close to Indiana the whole way through but like in Game 2, the Pacers seemed to have the emotional upper hand.
Paul George has emerged in this series as a true superstar in the NBA and it’s now no longer a matter of when he’ll become one of the bright stars among NBA elite, it’s when did it happen. George showed off his superstar aura in not only his stats but his swagger coming off of a devastating loss. Indiana sincerely thought they were going to win Game 3 on Sunday and the loss would have crippled a lesser team with lesser leadership.
But while George is clearly the pulse of the Pacers, the Heat have three big guys who tend to come alive when they’re needed most. It happened in Game 1 and again in Game 3, and Tuesday night was no exception. Trailing late in the game, the Heat mounted a surge that cut the Pacers lead to just three point with more than six minutes left in the game.
And if you’ll refer back to Game 1 of the series, 2.2 seconds was far too much time to give the Heat, so just imagine what six minutes feels like. Miami tied the game at the six minute mark and the intensity that had been oddly absent late in the game on Sunday was back in full force down the stretch of Game 4.
But the Pacers were able to hold off the late game push by the Heat and win their second game of the series to even things up before they head back to South Beach. A big blow to the Heat came at the 0:56 mark of final quarter as that’s the moment LeBron James fouled out and was done for the night. Not having James on the floor in a clutch, comeback situation is not something the Heat want to envision but it was a nightmare come true on Tuesday.
Indiana took punches in Game’s one and three but they got their ground back not following both their losses in this series. They’ve played the Heat closer than anyone has really all season long and it’s that reason they’re still in this thing to win it. But the Pacers need to actually string together wins if they want to actually upset the Heat rather than simply come close.
The Pacers have yet to follow a win with a win in this series and they’re running out of time to be able to do it. If this trend continues, the Pacers will be forced to win Game 7 while a win in Miami means they’ll have a chance to upset the Heat on home court. The series is far from over but the Pacers are the ones that control their own fate, it’s just a matter of how much of Game’s two and four they can channel in Game 5.