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Pacers aim to force another Miami meltdown in Game 3

May 17, 2012 - 2:34 PM (Sports Network) - Miami remains the prohibitive favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference in the NBA playoffs, but what looked like a coronation a couple days ago has morphed into a dogfight after the injury to Heat big man Chris Bosh.

With Game 2 on the line Tuesday, neither LeBron James or Dwyane Wade took the final shot for the Heat, and Indiana held on to even their Eastern Conference semifinal series after two games.

David West scored 16 points and had 10 rebounds while George Hill added 15 points, including a big free throw with 14.1 seconds left, as the Pacers earned a 78-75 victory in South Florida.

"We can't get too excited because we won one game," West said. "That's not our goal in this series. We can't overreact because we were able to get one game down here."

Roy Hibbert made 1-of-2 free throws with 32 seconds left to give the Pacers a 77-75 lead. Wade then spun around Hill to the left, but a layup attempt came up short with under 17 seconds to go.

"I was kind of falling a little bit," Wade said. "With a little contact, I just got a little too far to the rim."

With 14.1 seconds left, Hill made his first attempt from the charity stripe at the other end, but the second clanked off the rim and the ball was deflected to the other end of the court. Hill tried to save the ball, but stepped on the end line, giving Miami possession with 8.3 seconds to go.

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra used James and Wade as high-priced decoys for Mario Chalmers, who lofted a three-point try off the rim and time expired.

James had 28 points and Wade scored 24 for the shorthanded Heat, who shot just 34.6 percent and were outscored 28-14 in the third quarter. No other Miami player mustered more than five points, the first time in the franchise's 24- years of existence that only two players scored more than five points in a game.

The Heat captured the opener on Sunday with a 95-86 triumph, but lost Bosh to a lower abdominal strain.

"We have to do a better job of getting our guys in a rhythm so they can contribute," James said. "We need everyone."

It was a case of poor shooting for the Heat, who went 1-of-16 from three-point range and also missed half of their 10 free throws in the final quarter. That included a 4-of-8 performance from James in the last 12 minutes.

"We had our opportunities, obviously we did not shoot the ball very well," Spoelstra said. "We still put ourselves in a position to win there at the end. We couldn't get quite over the hump."

The Heat missed their final six field goal attempts and James, the newly- crowned MVP, failed on two foul shots with 54.3 seconds left.

The Pacers, who finished with a 50-40 edge on the glass, crashed the boards to create extra opportunities in the closing minute. After Hill's layup and West's tip try both missed, the ball was tapped back to Leandro Barbosa, who drove to the basket before dishing to Hibbert, who was hammered under the hoop to set up the dramatic finish.

"We knew that if we came into this place and limited their transition buckets and their offensive rebounds, then we'd be all right," Hibbert said. "Everyone did a great job. We got some fast-break points."

There was some physical play that led to technical fouls and a flagrant foul call in the final quarter. Wade pushed Darren Collison in the back during an Indiana fast-break chance and was given a flagrant foul. James and Danny Granger exchanged words and were each given a technical with 7:25 left in the game, this after the three-time MVP scored a layup.

In the end Miami lost for the first time in its last 14 playoff games at home against East opponents.

Bosh, who scored 13 points before suffering the injury shortly before halftime of the Heat's 95-86 victory on Sunday, is out indefinitely after an MRI on Monday confirmed a strained lower abdominal muscle.

"This season has to be extended for me to play again," he said. "So that's what's on my mind."

His absence has let doubt creep into the mind of the Heat and buoyed the confidence of the Pacers.

"We've got to keep our edge," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. "We understand that we feel good about who we are as a basketball team and that we can win this series. But that means nothing. We've got to do it in between the lines."

Miami won three of the four from Indiana in the regular season. The only other playoff meeting between the Pacers and Heat came in 2004 in the East semifinals with Indiana winning in six games.

Game 4 of the series will be in Indianapolis on Sunday.