Pacers crush Heat to take series lead; Dwyane Wade, Erik Spoelstra exchange words
Published: Friday, May 18, 2012
NDIANAPOLIS—Dwyane Wade and Erik Spoelstra stood face to face, looking more like two boxers promoting a fight than player and coach. They continued to exchange words and Wade’s Miami Heat teammates worked to quell the confrontation.
“Dwyane and I have been together for a long time,” Spoelstra said. “We’ve been through basically everything—a lot of different roles and a lot of different teams. That really is nothing.”
Wade’s response: “I don’t even know what y’all are talking about.”
The manner in which the Heat went down in the series, 2-1, was troubling at best. Wade was scoreless in first half—the first time that’s happened in his 95-game playoff career—and he wasn’t the only Heat star who struggled. After dropping 16 points in the first half, LeBron James scored just six in the second, and the Heat's supporting cast, with few exceptions, remained woeful.
Mario Chalmers, who missed a potential game-tying 3-point attempt for Miami in the waning seconds of Game 2, was the only Heat player to show any sense of urgency for long stretches and finished with 25 points.
But the Heat disappeared again in the third quarter, scoring fewer than 15 points in the period for the second straight game. Thursday in Indianapolis, they were outscored 26-12 in the third.
As Chalmers clawed for buckets, James remained passive and Wade continued his blunder-filled day. On top of his 2-for-13 shooting, Wade committed five turnovers, two of which were point-blank passes to Paul George that led to scores for the Pacers.
“Wade had an off night,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “We can’t give Paul all the credit. He’s too good of a player to have shooting nights like he had tonight, but Paul is competing. He’s growing by the day.”
Wade, often thought of as a rock, was not unflappable on Thursday, and the Heat didn’t look like the best team on the floor for the first time in this series.
LeBron James had only six points in the second half as the Heat wilted. (AP Photo)
Fans congregated in a sea of yellow screamed, “he’s a flopper,” while Wade stood at the free-throw line. Wade pulled the shot and left it short before hitting the second. Those were the only free throws he attempted.
And while the Heat faltered, the Pacers surged.
Indiana is the anti-Heat. It relies on multiple players to produce in an efficient offense that rarely features an isolation call.
“Ball movement is your best friend,” Vogel said.
Pacers center Roy Hibbert was dominant, with 19 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks, exploiting the hole in the middle left by injured Heat forward Chris Bosh.
“Without him in the game, I can wander a little bit more,” Hibbert said of Bosh. “Tried to clog the lane a little bit more, blocking shots. But when he’s there, I have to respect his jump-shooting ability and driving ability.”
George, Danny Granger and George Hill also helped the Pacers’ offensive efficiency. George was 3-of-6, and Hill was a model of consistency with 20 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Granger made his mark from the 3-point line, finishing 3-of-6 from the arc with 17 points.
Still, Hibbert was the key to Indiana’s onslaught. He has often let his emotions catch up with him, but on Thursday, he scored, defended and kept his head down. He didn’t point to the crowd or become irate after a miscue.
The Pacers' big man attributed that newfound calm to a summer spent working out with Tim Duncan, whose Spurs have looked have unbeatable so far in the playoffs.
“There's strength in mental calm,” Vogel said, referring to Hibbert's performance.
The Heat could have used some of that quiet strength on Thursday night.
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