Heat scorch Pacers, grab 2-1 series lead

INDIANAPOLIS—The Miami Heat rediscovered its offensive punch and beat the Indiana Pacers, 114-96, on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in the NBA Eastern Conference finals.

LeBron James profited from a tactical switch, scored 22 points and got plenty of help as the Heat reclaimed the home-court advantage they lost two nights earlier. Dwyane Wade had 18 points, and Udonis Haslem added 17.

“I made a conscious effort to get down in the post tonight, to put pressure on their defense,” James said. “The coaching staff wanted me to be down there tonight, and my teammates allowed me to do that.”

It was a move reminiscent of when the Los Angeles Lakers played Magic Johnson in the post in place of the injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during the NBA Finals more than two decades ago.

And it worked just as well.

James rebounded from the two late turnovers that cost Miami in Game 2 by scoring 22 points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists. Hours after Dwyane Wade learned he would only be tagged with a flagrant foul from Game 2 and not a suspension, he finished with 18 points, eight assists and four rebounds. Chris Bosh added 15 points and three rebounds and all five Miami starters reached double figures.

The move allowed Miami to outscore Indiana 56-32 in the paint.

Perhaps that should be expected from a team with so much scoring punch and that has won 23 of its last 24 on the road, but there were more surprising statistics in other areas.

Miami committed a playoff franchise-low one turnover in the first half and finished with only five. James finished with none.

The Heat shot 54.5 percent against a team that finished the regular season with the NBA’s best defensive field goal percentage and also made 24 of 28 free throws.

They matched the highest scoring output in a quarter during this season’s playoffs with 34, broke the franchise playoff record for points in a half (70) and fell one point short of tying the third-highest point total in a playoff game in franchise history.

But the biggest difference between the first two games and Sunday’s comfortable win was what James’ work on the inside.

“It was something we wanted to get to just to help settle us and get into a more aggressive attack,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We wanted to be a little more aggressive, a little more committed to getting into the paint and seeing what would happen. LeBron was very committed and focused not to settle.”

Now, with Game 4 scheduled for Tuesday, it’s the Pacers turn to adjust.

David West led Indiana with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Roy Hibbert had 20 points and 17 rebounds. Paul George finished with 13 points and eight assists, not nearly enough to keep the Pacers perfect at home in the postseason.

Indiana, which fell to 6-1 at home in the playoffs, must win its next home game to even the series again.

Miami took advantage of a wild first quarter to build a 34-30 lead, then turned the game with James taking control in a 12-point second quarter.

He scored half of the points in an 8-2 run that gave the Heat what was then their biggest lead of the series, 42-32.  AP