LITTLE ROCK — Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were more than enough to finish off the Indiana Pacers.
Wade scored 41 points and James 28 in a 105-93 victory in Game 6 Thursday night that sent the Heat back to the NBA Eastern Conference finals.
The Heat won the series 4-2, advancing to face either Boston or Philadelphia.
“In the regular season, we’ve had some good games,” Wade said. “But I don’t know if we’ve ever had three in a row like that in the playoffs.”
Seven days earlier, Miami trailed 2-1 in the series after getting routed 94-75 in Indianapolis. The Pacers had another game on their home court and a chance to build a commanding lead.
Instead, the Big Three-Turned-Two took over.
With Chris Bosh sidelined by an abdominal injury, James and Wade soared to new heights. Over the course of three games, James scored 98 points, grabbed 34 rebounds and had 24 assists. Wade had 99 points, 22 rebounds and 11 assists.
“Ever since Game 3, they’ve played at such a high level,” Indiana Coach Frank Vogel said. “I don’t know if anybody can beat them.”
Next up, either the Celtics or 76ers in a series that starts Monday in Miami.
The Heat rallied from an early 11-point deficit, riding Wade’s performance in the opening half. He scored 26 points by halftime, tying Tim Hardaway’s 16-year-old franchise record for most playoff points in the first two quarters. James hit consecutive baskets with just more than a minute remaining to close it out.
“We understand that when Chris went out, we had to step up,” Wade said. “The team looked to us to lead.”
The banged-up Heat will get a chance to relax for a couple of days before worrying about the next opponent, which will be determined in Game 7 at Boston on Saturday.
“Chris Bosh is an awesome basketball player, but when he goes down, that just means more touches for LeBron and Wade,” Vogel said. “That’s not exactly an advantage.”
David West led Indiana with 24 points and all five starters had 10 or more. But that balance was overwhelmed by Wade and James.
In a game of spurts, the decisive one came in the closing minutes of the third quarter.
The Pacers tied it at 66-66 on Darren Collison’s threepointer, but the Heat closed on a 13-3 run, capped by Mario Chalmers’ buzzer-beating three from the corner.
“We just had a bad stretch,” West said. “They got us in the third quarter.”
Wade was 11 of 16 shooting in the first half, but also made sure the MVP stayed involved with a behind-the-back pass to James for a dunk.
“They’re too good. They capitalize on your mistakes,” West said. “We were too loose with the ball. They pressure you all over the place.”
Indiana clamped down a bit on Wade after halftime, but he still managed a onehanded shot that looked like it might go over the backboard, only to catch the top of the glass and drop through.
Wade delivered one final blow when he split West and George Hill, banking in the shot despite taking a knee from Hill that sent the Heat guard tumbling to the court.
“We just didn’t have enough yet,” Vogel said, “but we’ll be back.”
Chalmers finished with 15 points, while Mike Miller stepped up to provide some quality minutes, scoring 12 points on four three-pointers.
The Pacers started out like they were intent on sending the series back to Miami. West hit a short jumper right off the tip, Danny Granger dunked off a fast break, and Granger connected on a threepointer to make it 13-3 before the game was five minutes in. Another basket by Granger, this one a turnaround jumper, gave the Pacers their biggest lead at 19-8.
But Miller made the first of his threes in the closing seconds of the first quarter, and Wade took over from there. He started the quarter by banking in a 12-footer, then made another short jumper. Miller followed with another three and it was tied.
Another three by Miller from 5 feet beyond the arc gave Miami its biggest lead of the half, 41-35. Back came the Pacers, who went to the locker room leading 53-51 and hoping of extending their season for at least one more game.
Turns out, they were down to their last half.
At a glance
All times Central
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
(x-if necessary) TUESDAY’S GAME
Miami 115, Indiana 83
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
Philadelphia 82, Boston 75
Series tied 3-3
THURSDAY’S GAME
Miami 105, Indiana 93
Miami wins series 4-2
SATURDAY’S GAME
Philadelphia at Boston, 4 p.m. or 7 p.m.
CONFERENCE FINALS
SUNDAY’S GAME
Oklahoma City at San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.
Sports, Pages 21 on 05/25/2012