Roy Hibbert scored 29 points, David West knocked away two passes by LeBron James for huge turnovers in the final minute, and the Indiana Pacers evened the Eastern Conference finals with a 97-93 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 2 on Friday night.
Knowing his team needed him at his best, Dwyane Wade retreated to the Miami Heat locker room after the third quarter for some quick treatment on his aching right knee.
When he came back, he was good as new.
So much for that notion of the Miami Heat being in trouble. Sure, they’ve lost home-court advantage in these Eastern Conference semifinals. But an absolute domination of the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night made the reigning NBA champions look like the clear-cut team to beat in this title race once again.
All the Miami Heat did was set a franchise single-season record for wins with four games left to play, clinch the top overall spot in the NBA and secure home-court advantage for the entirety of the playoffs.
Ray Allen scored 23 points, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade chilled at the end of the bench, and the Miami Heat’s B-squad gave the resting A-team the gift of home-court advantage throughout the playoffs Wednesday night, clinching the best record in the NBA with a 103-98 victory over the Washington Wizards.
Chris Bosh scored 23 points, including a winning 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining, and the Miami Heat beat the San Antonio Spurs 88-86 on Sunday night with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers sitting out due to injuries.
The Miami Heat stretched their dynamic win streak to 25 games as they rallied in the second half to beat the Detroit Pistons 103-89 behind a game-high 29-point effort from LeBron James.
LeBron James and Chris Bosh each scored 28 points, and the Miami Heat made it 21 straight wins, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 107-94 on Friday night.
LeBron James drove to the rim and scored on Miami’s final play, winning a game in memorable fashion and preserving the Heat’s winning streak that has lasted for five weeks.
LeBron James scored 26 points, including a go-ahead layup with 3.2 seconds left, and the Miami Heat scrambled late to beat the Orlando Magic 97-96 on Wednesday night and extend their franchise-record winning streak to 16 games.
LeBron James endured his worst shooting night of the season, and still delivered the biggest basket of the game.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra summed up the efforts of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in three words: “Video game numbers,” he said. Both put up monster stat lines. And the Miami Heat needed them. James scored 40 points and added a career-high 16 assists, Wade had 39 points, and the Heat pushed their winning streak to 12 games by outlasting the Sacramento Kings 141-129 in double overtime on Tuesday night.
Mike Krzyzewski says again he doesn’t plan to return as U.S. men’s basketball coach after leading the Americans to two Olympic gold medals.
