Pacers 107, Heat 96
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana is done talking about home-court advantage.
Playoffs glance
Sunday’s game
Indiana 107, Miami 96
Indiana leads series 1-0
Today’s game
Oklahoma City at San Antonio, 8 p.m.
First game of series
The top-seeded Pacers are ready to use it against the two-time defending champs.
They took the first step Sunday, when Paul George finished with 24 points and 7 assists, David West added 19 points and 7 rebounds, and suddenly surging Indiana led wire-to-wire in a 107-96 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
"This is just a fun matchup," George said. "It's one that we've been waiting for all year."
Indiana won a series opener for the first first time in this year's playoffs. And for the first time in their last three playoff battles against the Heat, the Pacers won Game 1.
Game 2 is Tuesday night.
Six Pacers -- all five starters and backup C.J. Watson -- scored between 11 and 24 points, helping Indiana produce its highest point total of the playoffs.
The Pacers limited the Heat to four offensive rebounds and 6-of-23 shooting from beyond the three-point line. LeBron James went 1 of 5 on three-point attempts and shot two free throws, and Miami fell so far behind so fast, it never even had a chance to tie the score.
Opening this best-of-seven series at Bankers Life Fieldhouse at home might have helped, but the biggest difference for the Pacers was on the court.
Indiana shared the ball, limited its turnovers, maintained its poise and got contributions from everyone. Roy Hibbert finished with 19 points and 9 rebounds, Lance Stephenson had 17 points and 8 assists, and George Hill added 15 points as the Pacers looked more like the team that was so dominant over the first half of the season, rather than the one struggled so mightily in the second half.
The Pacers insist they know it's only a start.
"There's nothing to celebrate. It's not like we won a championship. It's one game," Hill said. "Yes, it was good, but if we come out and lay an egg on Tuesday, this game doesn't mean anything."
The most difficult part for the Heat will be figuring out what went wrong.
Coach Erik Spoelstra used Shane Battier in the starting lineup, then replaced him with Udonis Haslem after the Pacers took a 55-45 halftime lead. It made no difference.
James, who had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, and Dwyane Wade, who had 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting, desperately tried to rally the Heat but got little help. Chris Bosh had nine points and two rebounds. Ray Allen finished with 12 points.
Bosh said he thought the primary problem was Miami's inability to get stops, but James said he wasn't sure.
"The game's still so fresh. It's too hard to just say, 'Well, we need to do this better in Game 2,' " James said after the Heat lost for the second time in 10 playoff games. "We need to evaluate our mistakes and things we did in Game 1 first before I can say what we need to bring to Game 2."
The Pacers didn't appear to be the same team that spent most of the past three months answering questions about their second-half swoon.
Indiana swarmed the glass, exploited its size advantage, knocked down 6 of its first 7 three-pointers and forced the Heat into playing catch-up.
Miami cut a 10-point, first-quarter deficit to 41-37 midway through the second quarter, but Stephenson scored four and Indiana outscored Miami 5-0 to make it 46-37. Then, James made back-to-back baskets to trim the lead to 50-45 late in the quarter only to see the Pacers end the half with five consecutive points to make it 55-45.
Hibbert and West combined for eight of Indiana's first 14 points to open the second half, pushing the lead to 69-52.
James and Wade rallied the Heat within 83-74 early in the fourth, but the Pacers opened it up again to 102-84 with 4:11 to go.
"We just can't get complacent," George said. "We've got to stay humbled off this win and come in with the same mind-set that we have to get another one."
Sports on 05/19/2014