Roused Miami bench turns Heat on

THE ONLY name from the Indiana Pacers team that this tiny meat cleaver could distinctly remember was hotshot Reggie  Miller.

In fact, dusky Luis Sanano had never thought Indiana  could go as far as the current NBA Western Conference Finals.

Over the weekend though, he had to reluctantly add the name of 7-2 Roy Hibbert, Indiana team center, to  that of Miller. Hibbert was an immovable team pillar as the Pacers gave the Heat a tough time in the first two games of the best-of-seven series.

Hibbert was the main man when the Pacers stole the homecourt advantage in Miami from the Heat.

Sanano, by the way, has long since become a Miami fanatic, thanks to LeBron James whom he ranks as a hardcourt demigod.

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Of course, the wet-market boy was himself quite worried before yesterday’s Game 3 between Miami and Indiana. Reason:  The Big 3 of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh had not been rolling smoothly to their full potential during the conference playoffs.

Naturally, all eyes were also on Miami coach Erik Spoelstra, and how he would ward off the homecourt spell Indiana was expected to cast on beleaguered Miami.

Nobody had any idea how Spoelstra would shuffle and orchestrate.

But, before the end of the third quarter, the poor meat cleaver, together with countless others were mumbling the name Udonis Haslem.

Was he, for example, originally a member of the conference playoff cast?

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Miami did post wide margins in the first half yesterday.  As expected, Indiana fought hardest in the third quarter.

Sorry, but each time Indiana would threaten, there was the almost invisible Haslem dousing cold water on the uprising.

Whoever  he may be, swooned the game announcer,  Haslem was 8 for 9 from the field.

The happy thing here was that James, unlike in the first two games of the conference finals,  was very instrumental in yielding scoring chores, helping rouse the full Miami bench, which yesterday was mightily represented by the now unforgettable Haslem.

Just like his teammates,  James also worked his guts out in defense.

By the way, was it coach Spoelstra’s way of saying that, yes, King James was only human?

LeBron had to repeatedly step down and humble himself by giving passes, if not providing screens even for an obscure teammate who, until yesterday, did not seem to officially exist.

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(DARK SPELL: Premier poet Cesar Ruiz Aquino has this to say of the Miami team, which he worships like the Muse: ” When you really hate a team that’s really good you will fear that team and this fear grows when the game is fought closely. I think the collective fear of Heat from its haters all over the globe during a decisive game infllicts a psychic damage and bad luck on the team backed by Miami haters.”  Dr. Aquino’s new book: Caesuras: 155 New Poems was recently released by the University of Santo Tomas Publishing House. “A quicksilver mind ever in motion,” says Marjorie Evasco.)