Pacers set Tone for Playoff Run? Small Rally Drops the Heat 84 - 83.

By MICHAEL MAROT
The Associated Press-Sports

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indiana took every shot Miami could muster Wednesday night.

Then the +Indiana Pacers threw a couple of their own punches - and put the two-time defending champs on the mat.

Paul George scored 23 points, Roy Hibbert added 21 and Indiana rallied from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Heat 84-83, taking a three-game lead over Miami in the chase of the Eastern Conference's top seed.

''They're the champs, they're going to bring out the best in us,'' said David West, who made a 3-pointer with 50.2 seconds to go. ''They bring out the best in anybody. I thought we just had enough fight.''

It was one of those rare grudge matches that actually lived up to the billing.

Before the game, the teams chided one another with dueling comments. Afterward, nobody was ready to make up. And in between, the action got downright nasty.

Wed, Mar 26, 2014

+LeBron James needed a cotton swab in his nose to keep playing in the fourth quarter after getting whacked in the face. Dwyane Wade spent the final minute of the game icing his right hamstring.

Pacers center Roy Hibbert finished the game despite taking an elbow to the face that left him so groggy he didn't even remember getting hit.

James and George both wound up taking spills into basket supports, and Lance Stephenson was ejected midway through the fourth quarter after picking up his second technical foul for celebrating a basket. The angry Stephenson waved his hand at the ref and after leaving the court, threw a towel and kicked a door. Coach Frank Vogel was not amused, saying he had a stern talk with his budding star guard before he went home.

But it typified a rugged night for Miami (48-22).

''It is what it is, they ref the game, we play it,'' James said.

The +NBA best home team ended a two-game losing streak, took a 2-1 lead in the season series and now has the inside track to home-court advantage with just 10 games to play.

And (52-20) Indiana still managed to do all of that on a night James seemed to be at his best.

The four-time MVP finished with 38 points, eight rebounds, five assists, was 9 of 15 from the field and 14 of 15 from the free throw line.

The problem: James also had six turnovers, Wade had six more turnovers and Miami managed only one basket over the final 3 minutes, 23 seconds. James and Bosh both missed late jumpers that would have given Miami the lead, the last an airball by Bosh from just right of the top of the key as time expired.

''Unfortunately, that was what I diagramed,'' coach Erik Spoelstra said. ''It probably wasn't the best call. It might have been a little too gunslinger on my part. I just wanted an open shot.''

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 26: Paul George #24 of the 
Indiana Pacers dunks over LeBron James #6 of the Heat

They were so hard to come by Wednesday night that James was even called for a flagrant foul when he drove to the basket and sent the 7-foot-2, 290-pound Hibbert crashing to the ground. When Hibbert got up, he stumbled. Eventually he had to leave the court to change his blood-spattered jersey, but he refused to sit against the Heat.

Hibbert dominated the first half yet again, scoring 17 points.

But when the Heat decided to make things tough on Hibbert in the second half, George and his teammates took advantage.

George spurred the first fourth-quarter run with two monster dunks - one over the hand of a trailing James - to get the Pacers back in the game.

Later, it was Evan Turner, the trade deadline acquisition, who delivered two of Indiana's biggest baskets of the night. The first came after James' final turnover, on a breakaway layup. The second came courtesy of Mario Chalmers' turnover out of bounds. When the middle of the court opened up, Turner bolted through a clear path for an 81-80 lead with 90 seconds to go.

''I know how to get my space, I've been doing that forever, you know what I mean?'' Turner said, likely adding another spark to a rivalry that needs none. ''Some of my moves I've been doing since I was a little kid, so I can walk a pretty fine line when it comes to that.''

After Hibbert made 1 of 2 free throws, Turner scored on the layups, West hit the knockout 3 and all Miami got was a 3 from Bosh with 2.9 seconds left.

''They're a tough team, psychologically against most teams they have the edge,'' West said. ''They've got the best player in the game. Their pedigree, their entire organization, you understand what you're going to get.''

NOTES: Indiana has won its first back-to-back division titles since 1998-99 and 1999-2000. ... The Heat are now 7-8 in March. ... The Pacers and Heat meet again April 11 in Miami.
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Lebron, Thwarted at end of 4th, Bulls beat Heat 95 - 86

LeBron James drops the ball in Miami Heat’s loss to Chicago Bulls

LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat passes under pressure from Tony Snell #20 and Joakim Noah #13 of the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on March 9, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois.
Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images

CHICAGO -- It was the perfect play for LeBron James to win a game at the buzzer — one-on-one, driving to the basket against a smaller defender, Joakim Noah nowhere near the play.

But this time the locomotive skidded off the tracks.

This time that unstoppable force of athletic greatness never made it to the rim.

This time Bulls defender Jimmy Butler made the perfect defensive play, stripping the back-to-back MVP of the basketball in mid-flight to force an overtime period the Bulls dominated on their home court at United Center.

The Heat’s 95-88 loss in Chicago ended a disastrous three-game road trip that featured loss after loss after loss.

“I dropped the ball,” James said. “That’s a double-entendre, right? A actually dropped the ball, but I also dropped the ball on my team.”

Literary devices aside, the Heat also dropped another opportunity to move closer to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. The three-game losing streak coincided with a four-game losing streak by the East-leading Indiana Pacers.

In his first full game without his protective mask since strapping it on Feb. 27, James finished with 17 points and went 8 of 23 from the field. He went 1 of 3 from the three-point line and didn’t attempt a free throw. It was the first time James has not attempted a free throw in a game since Dec. 2, 2009, against the Phoenix Suns.

The Heat blew a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter and, amazingly, allowed 14 second-chance points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Despite all that, the Heat had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation.

“I had it,” James said. “And it was a great play, and give a lot of credit to Jimmy — he got his hand on the ball — but I had the lane, and I had the layup.

“I don’t know. I messed up on my scouting report. I knew if I brought the ball back to my left side, then he would strip it, too, and I went in and brought it over a little too far and he was able to get a hand on it.”

Things then fell apart for the Heat in overtime.

A three-pointer by D.J. Augustin to begin overtime gave the Bulls a three-point lead, and then a key offensive rebound and jumper by Butler extended Chicago’s lead to 91-86 with 2:25 to play. Butler finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and four steals.

A sloppy pass by Dwyane Wade gifted the Bulls another possession and an offensive rebound and put-back by Noah over Chris Andersen with 1:53 left put the Bulls ahead 93-86. Noah then swatted away a layup attempt by Mario Chalmers on the other end and the celebrating began.

Noah, who led the +Florida Gators to back-to-back NCAA championships, bounced and screamed with his signature grimace while Butler ran the floor and forced Wade to foul.

Butler, former +Marquette University standout, made both free-throw attempts to give +Chicago Bulls a nine-point lead with 93 seconds left in the game.

The Heat committed 18 turnovers, which the Bulls converted into 19 points. Chicago outrebounded the Heat 47-42 and outscored the +Miami HEAT on second-chance points 27-6. Augustin led the Bulls with 22 points off the bench, and Noah had 20 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks.

Wade led the Heat with 25 points, going 11 of 12 from the free-throw line. Chris Bosh had 15 points, five rebounds and was 3 of 5 from the three-point range.

A three-pointer by Augustin cut the Heat’s lead to 74-73 in the fourth quarter, and Butler put Chicago ahead with a pair of free throws with 6:34 left in regulation. Butler’s free throws came after a steal and a dunk attempt on Wade in the open court. Wade prevented the basket with a foul, but Butler’s display of force energized the crowd nonetheless.

From there, the end of regulation featured four lead changes and five ties. A three-pointer by Bosh, his third of the game, gave the Heat an 82-80 lead with 3:18 left in the game. Bosh has made at least three three-pointers in six games this season.

A five-foot jumper by Noah tied the score with 2:45 left, and a powerful breakaway dunk by Taj Gibson gave Chicago an 84-82 lead at the two-minute mark. James answered with a driving layup on Noah to once again tie the score and set the stage for a classic ending.

The perimeter steal by Wade on Butler following a Bulls timeout gave the Heat a chance to retake the lead, and Wade did just that with a pair of free throws. A driving layup by Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich then tied it at 86 with 20 seconds to play.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/03/10/3984584/lebron-james-drops-the-ball-in.html?asset_id=3984382&asset_type=gallery#storylink=cpy

Big Z's number reited by Cleveland Cavs - A truly great professional

Shoutout from former teammate and the one and only, +LeBron James on +Instagram