The Miami Heat pulled out a dominant performance as they wrapped up the Eastern Conference Finals with a 99-76 victory over the Indiana Pacers in game 7 at American Airlines Arena on Monday night. They won their third straight Eastern Conference title and became the first team to do that since Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls from 1996 until 1998. The Heat will open the NBA Finals at home against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night.
LeBron James piled up 32 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Heat in 41 minutes of play. Dwyane Wade had his best scoring output since game 2 of the first round with 21 points and nine rebounds in 35 minutes. Chris Bosh added nine points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes while Ray Allen dropped in 10 points as a reserve.
Roy Hibbert, who fouled out midway through in the fourth quarter, led the Pacers with a team-high 18 points and eight rebounds in 38 minutes. David West contributed 14 points and six rebounds in 37 minutes and George Hill knocked down 13 points in the loss.
Neither team had more than a five-point lead in the opening quarter as Indiana was up 21-19 after one period. The Heat outscored the Pacers 33-16 in the second quarter and finished the first half on a 24-10 run to lead 52-37.
Miami extended their lead to over 20 points as they ended the third quarter on a 10-2 spurt and moved ahead 76-55. The Heat increased their margin to 91-63 with 5:30 remaining on a 12-2 edge and pulled their starters out of the game with four minutes to go.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment