Miami Heat Fall to the Indiana Pacers in Game 5

Paul George surely showed his aggressiveness on the court against Miami in Game 5 Wednesday night. His eagerness to not go home after five games caused him to have the most outstanding shooting performance of his career recording 21 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter. George’s aspirations brought his team within 3-2 of the Eastern Conference Finals winning 93-90 in Game 5 over the Miami Heat.

“I just felt it. I felt in rhythm. I had to be aggressive,” George said. “I tried to come out and be aggressive to start this game off, and I was getting looks. I got hot.”

George was absolutely on fire and showed a great amount of ambition to get it done. He was 12-of-19 from the field in the second half, and finished with six rebounds, six steals, five 3-pointers and only three turnovers in 45 minutes. The 24-year old All-Star’s 21 fourth-quarter points were the most scored against Miami in any playoff quarter.

For Miami, it wasn’t so tough on the road, they just couldn’t get the job done. Four-time MVP LeBron James was limited to 24 1/2 minutes because of major foul trouble. He finished with a horrific season low of seven points, two rebounds and four assists just after coming off his best game of the series in Game 4. Not only did James foul trouble corrupt the Heat, but as a team they committed 17 turnovers. That’s huge going up against this Pacer team.

Chris Bosh scored 20 points, Dwyane Wade and Rashard Lewis each finished with 18.

The Miami Heat didn’t have it too bad, they just couldn’t finish out strong without their key player LeBron James. They managed to hold the Pacers to 11 points in the second quarter and only 33 in the first half. They did a great job surviving without James after two long first half stretches; the rest was up to them to finish. With 4.9 seconds left in the fourth the game was set at 92-90, Pacers. Instead of going for the tie LeBron who was inches from the basket decided to pass the ball to Bosh for the 3-pointer. Bosh’s shot was off the mark, and the Pacers grabbed the rebound to hold off for the win.

“We still had enough opportunities to come away with a win.” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We just couldn’t get over the hump.” 

Regardless of what Lance Stephenson’s teammates told him about his antics on the court, he continued to be a pest towards LeBron James in Game 5 by blowing in his ear. At another point, he attempted to listen in on one of the Heat’s huddles. Stephenson then managed to irritate his own pockets by costing himself a fine of $10,000 for an illegal flop in the fourth quarter with 8:23 remaining. Teammate Roy Hibbert was also fined $5,000 for an illegal flop in the fourth quarter with 5:18 remaining.

“I’m just here to play basketball, man. All the extracurricular activities, I don’t really get into,” James said. “I’m just trying to win. We need one more win to get to the Finals. That’s my only concern. All the extra stuff, whatever Lance wants to do, I don’t really care about that.”

Going into Game 5 it seemed like the Heat could have clinched themselves another conference title. That is until George decided to take over.

George started an 11-0 run with a layup and ended it with a steal that he turned into a dunk to give the Pacers a 52-50 lead. Miami quickly tied it on Udonis Haslem’s layup, but George answered with a 3-pointer that sent the Pacers on a 12-5 run to make it 64-57 after three. Indiana then extended the lead to as much as 77-66 early in the fourth quarter on another George dunk. However, once James re-entered the game after 5 fouls changed the game up quickly.

The Heat scored nine straight to make it 77-75. They then tied it at 81 on James’ only 3-pointer of the night with 3:51 to play. George then hit another 3-pointer and West made one of two free throws in the closing seconds to seal the game.

“It’s like playing cards, that’s why they got backs on them. You don’t know what’s going to happen,” James said. “I trust myself that I’m going to make the right play to help us win. And win, lose or draw, you live with that.”