Photo by: USAToday
It was a match up where Lebron James gave a speech to his teammates in the locker room telling them not to worry about Game 2 or 3. “They don’t like us. We don’t like them”, James told them before the game. “Lets take care of this game. Play Miami Heat ball offensively .” Lebron James seem to had his team pumped up and ready to go but the Pacers took advantage of the Home Court advantage.
The Pacers took the first step in Game 1 with Paul George finishing with 24 points and 7 assists going 7-13 in the field while David west added 19 points and 7 rebounds going 8-11 in the field. Roy Hibbert and George Hill also helped out the Pacers surge through Game 1 and give them a 107-96 win. Roy Hibbert had a stunning 19points and 9 rebounds while George Hill went for 15points and was 3-9 in the field. The Pacers looked unstoppable and shut down a Miami Heat team that was ready to take game 1.
Indiana looked great in the court. They shared the ball, limited its turnovers, maintained its poise and got assists from everyone. The Pacers limited the Heat to just four offensive rebounds and 6-of-24 shooting form beyond the arc. Their defense was phenomenal as well as the number shows. They stopped Lebron James to a 1-5 on 3 pointers and just didn’t allow Miami to do much. Miami was down by 10 at the half and just went things seem to be getting better for them, George and the rest of the Indiana team stepped it up and never gave Miami a chance to either tie up the game or take the lead. In the third quarter, Indiana lead as much as 19 points and the smallest it ever got was 9 points.
Photo by: Sports Illustrated
Miami, on the other hand, seemed to struggle in the court. Coach Spoelstra used Battier in the starting lineup instead of Haslem. James only had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists while Dwayne Wade had 27 points and went 12-for18 in the court. Together they tried to rally up Miami but this isn’t just a two man team. Ray Allen had only 12 points and Chris Bosh had 9.
During game 1 we all saw a Indiana Team that we haven’t seen since they reached the playoff berch back in March. Indiana looked strong, swarmed the glass, took advantage of the chances they had, and knocked out six of its first seven 3 pointers to helped them take a lead and make Miami play catch up. Whenever the Heat seemed to get close, Indiana would take a 10-0 run or in the third quarter, took a 14-4 run.
The hardest part for Indiana will be playing the same way they did tonight again on tuesday when Game 2 comes into the picture. Miami always finds ways of coming back up and taking the series. If Indiana plays the next few games like they did in Game 1, Miami will for sure struggle and will be taken out of the NBA playoffs. Indiana needs to stay humble off Game 1’s win and go in with the same mind set in Game 2. Game 2 will be in Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indiana and jump-off will be at 8:30PM ET/5:30PM PT.