The Associated Press reported from Indianapolis yesterday that “bodies crashed to the floor all night.”
That could partly provide the clue behind the Indiana Pacers’ series-tying (2-all) win over the favored Miami Heat in Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
But when Indiana coach Frank Vogel was asked post-game what he thought made all the difference, he stared blankly and shook his head.
The winner had no immediate idea.
Normally, it’s not the winning coach’s role to seek for answers; these should first be traced by the losers.
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However, the answer could’ve been partly provided in a red-lettered placard that rose in the stands shortly before the buzzer:
“MIAMI IS JUST ANOTHER TEAM”
Coach Vogel refused to look at it that way.
For one, there’ll always be LeBron James to reckon with.
“You can’t hope to stop him,” Vogel admitted with a wan smile.
He also refused to say they were the better team, if just for the evening.
“We just rose and stood to all the big challenges,” Vogel explained.
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They were not ordinary on-game tests the Pacers had to wriggle through.
They bruised and banged their way to momentary leads that readily got razed by the sharper hard-playing rivals.
In fact, it was clear Indiana, after repeatedly losing the lead, did it with the toughest defensive spurt they had to put up in the series.
This grim determination should explain the intense physicality of the contest, wherein favored Miami was blown off the boards, 49-30.
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When James threatened to frolic again down the post, passing off and screening, there were immediate adjustments. He was only 8 for 18 from the floor, before fouling out frustrated with nearly a full minute left.
Top victim of the bruising game was Chris Bosh, who hurt a knee and had to be led to the dugout at the height of battle. James himself emerged from a foot tangle limping.
On the whole, the Big Three of James, Bosh and Dwayne Wade shot 14 for 39 from the field.
Now, if Indiana had any distinct edge, it was in the middle, where the 7-foot-2 Hibbert again proved unstoppable.
All told, there should be a clearer clue of where the Eastern Conference Finals will ultimately lead after the Game 5 in Miami.
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Miami could only be expected to exploit its vastly talented lineup, the full bench included, to grab the crucial series lead. They can only be expected to orchestrate and play their patented offensive masterpiece.
Of course, it would pay to listen again to what Hibbert had exclaimed post-game yesterday.
“We are not going anywhere, we head straight to Miami from here,” the quietly efficient behemoth blurted.
But Indiana can’t be expected to merely play (basketball) in Miami.
“We go there to fight (harder)!”