Ron Artest was questionable with a migraine headache before the game, but the Indiana Pacers' all-star forward came on to score 25 points as his team topped the Miami Heat 94-81 to open their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
"Ron Artest was a monster tonight," Miami Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy said. "He really has a knack for making seemingly tough shots.
"He was fabulous."
Indiana's Jamaal Tinsley was also fabulous, scoring a personal playoff best 17 points on six-of-seven shooting, including five 3 pointers, to offset a subpar 13 point, 7 rebound effort by Jermaine O'Neal.
"Jamaal played a very key game," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. "He did a lot of great things for us along the way. His shot making was essential. He's a guy who can make things easier for our team. He's such an important part of who we've become."
The Pacers hadn't played since completing a four-game sweep over the Boston Celtics on April 25, and the lengthy layoff showed in the early stages.
"Obviously coming off 11 days anything is possible," said Pacers veteran sharpshooter Reggie Miller, who had 12 points. "Miami was much more focused and sharper than we were. I'm happy that we got the win but this can play much better. Hopefully, the rust is fully gone and we can play a complete game."
The Pacers will host Game 2 tonight at Conseco Fieldhouse, where they have won 11 in a row.
"We feel pretty good because we didn't play the way we're supposed to play but we still were able to control the game," O'Neal said.
"That makes things that much better for us going into Game 2. We feel if we do things we normally do before the break, the games goes the way we want it to go."
Rookie Dwyane Wade scored 22 points, Rafer Alston added 17 off the bench and Caron Butler chipped in with 14 for Miami, which shot just 38 per cent (32-of-84) from the field.
The Heat was coming off a grueling and emotional Game 7 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday but refused to use that as an excuse for dropping their 10th in a row to the Eastern Conference champions.
"I don't think it was an energy thing, they just outplayed us," Van Gundy said. "It had nothing to do with layoffs or not enough time to prepare.
"They played the game extremely well. There's a reason this team won 62 games this season. There's not a lot of holes in their game at either end of the floor."
After a slow start, Indiana wiped off the rust to lead by eight after one, and 46-36 at halftime behind Artest's 15 points.
An 18-1 run spanning the final minutes of the second quarter into the first four minutes of the third, helped the Pacers race to a 60-37 cushion. The Heat, however, wouldn't go away.
"The thing about Miami is that they're going to keep coming at you," Carlisle added. "Miami is a team that is unrelenting, they're going to fight you."
Three times the Heat pulled to within eight points in the final five minutes but Artest answered with a pair of free throws on the first two occasions.
After Butler buried a jumper, the lead was trimmed to eight again. But the 38-year-old Miller drilled a back-breaking 3 pointer from the left wing to put the Pacers ahead, 87-76 with 3:09 left. O'Neal followed with a layup to end the threat.
"It's playoff time, and I understand I am 38 but I'm not dead," Miller said. "I know I can contribute to this team. Even though I'm not putting up the big numbers like I used to in the playoffs, anytime you can find a way to contribute to a team like this that has so much talent, that's all you can ask for."
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