By Joseph Goodman, McClatchy Newspapers –
MIAMI — Two players can’t be better than an entire team every night.
In the Miami Heat’s first full game without forward Chris Bosh, Miami lost to the Pacers 78-75 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday night. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, who carried the Heat to victory in Game 1 after Bosh went down with an injury, combined for 52 points in Game 2, but it wasn’t enough to offset a horrendous offensive effort from the rest of the team.
James and Wade carried the scoring load for the Heat, but it was Mario Chalmers who had the ball in his hands in the final seconds. Chalmers missed his three-pointer at the buzzer, and fans at AmericanAirlines Arena began tossing their white seat covers onto the court in frustration.
(PHOTO: The Indiana Pacers celebrate a 78-75 win over the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday, May 15, 2012. The Pacers’ victory evened the series, 1-1.)
“Welcome to the playoffs for us, and that’s how we’re viewing it,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, trying to remain upbeat. “This series has started. They won on our home court.”
Tied 1-1, the series now shifts to Indianapolis for two games before returning to Miami for Game 5.
“Welcome to Eastern Conference playoff basketball,” said Pacers coach Frank Vogel, a nod to the physical defense.
James and Wade accounted for 21 of the Heat’s 23 points in the fourth quarter, and Miami held the Pacers to 17 points in the final 12 minutes, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a disastrous third quarter. The Pacers outscored Miami 28-14 to take a 61-52 lead into the fourth.
“There’s not a lot of shots in this series,” Spoelstra said. “They were able to break through in the third quarter, which was probably the best quarter for either team this series.”
Led by seven points from David West, the Pacers shot 55.6 percent from the field in the third quarter to build an 11-point lead. For the Heat, only James and Udonis Haslem managed field goals in the period.
James led the Heat with 28 points on 10-of-22 shooting to go along with nine rebounds and five assists. His six steals set a personal best in a playoff game and a Heat postseason record. Wade finished with 24 points on 8-of-22 shooting and was 8 of 10 from the free-throw line.
Heat players not named James and Wade combined to score 23 points. Haslem, Ronny Turiaf and Joel Anthony struggled to replace Chris Bosh and combined to score seven points. The Heat was 1 of 16 from three-point range and has only made one three-pointer in the series.
“We need to find a better way to get those guys to stay involved and then stay more confident,” Wade said of the Heat’s role players.
West, the Pacers’ power forward, said limiting Haslem, Turiaf and Anthony were keys to the game. The Pacers also outrebounded the Heat 50-40 and held the Heat to six points on the fast break.
“I just thought it was a matter of limiting some of those other guys,” West said. “I think that was the biggest difference. Joel Anthony came in and kind of hurt us in Game 1.”
West, who had 16 points, was one of four Pacers to score in double figures. George Hill had 15 points, Danny Granger had 11 and Paul George finished with 10. Leandro Barbosa had eight points off the bench, and guard Darren Collison had six.
As a team, the Pacers shot 37.8 percent from the field.
“We understand that offense is going to come and go,” Vogel said. “Our guys played harder tonight than they have all season.”
West gave the Pacers a 76-73 lead with 2:55 left in the game, but Wade cut the lead to one point with an offensive rebound and putback on the next possession. That’s when the pressure of the moment seemed to get the best of both teams.
George delivered an excellent block on a layup attempt by James with 1:21 left and even managed to pick up a foul while pulling down the rebound. George then missed both of his free-throw attempts.
Not to be outdone, James then missed a pair of free throws on the Heat’s next possession. It left Miami trailing 76-75 with 53 seconds left in the game.
“Next game I just got to hit ‘em,” said James, who went 8 of 13 from the line.
Roy Hibbert pulled down a key offensive rebound with 32 seconds to play and made 1 of 2 free throws with 32 seconds left to put the Pacers ahead 77-75. A miss by Wade put George at the line, who made 1 of 2. The Heat could do little in the final seconds other than free up Chalmers for a three-pointer.
“We got a decent look at it,” Spoelstra said.
