The Eastern Conference championship belongs to Miami, yet again.
Many thought this was the year the Pacers were going to give Miami a run for their money, but that’s not how the story ended. The way the history books will write it, the Miami Heat will return to the NBA Finals for their fourth consecutive year, after a 117-92 blowout at home against Indiana. And it wasn’t pretty.
Much of the talk surrounding tonight’s game was because of Lance Stephenson and his tactics on the court in Game 5, blowing in LeBron James ear and disrupting a Heat timeout in their win at home. Much of that continued Friday night on the road (with a pouring amount of boo’s), with LBJ being the subject of more playful love taps and Norris Cole receiving a hand to the face that was ultimately called a flagrant 1 foul.
And that’s where the Miami Heat turned up.
Between the 2nd and 3rd quarter, the Heat ran up to a 37 point lead and the Pacers had absolutely no chance of coming back from that.
LeBron James ended the game with 25 points and 6 assists, while Chris Bosh locked down 25 points of his own, as well as 8 rebounds. The third of the big 3, Dwyane Wade contributed with 13 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds.
Paul George looked dismal in the first half but ended the game with 29 points and 8 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for Indiana. Roy Hibbert scored a disappointing 8 points in the blowout, while public enemy number one, Stephenson, ended with an embarrassing 11 points. This all culminated in the Pacers being ousted from the Eastern Conference Finals for the 2nd year in a row at the hands of the Heat.
Lance, here’s what Paul thinks about you.
The NBA Finals start this Thursday on ABC. The Heat will face the winner of the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs series.
GIFs courtesy of cjzero.