The Indiana Pacers threw open the NBA Eastern Conference finals on Friday, upsetting the Miami Heat with a 97-93 victory to level the best-of-seven series at 1-1.
LeBron James scored 36 points for Miami, but gave up two crucial turnovers down the stretch that cost the Heat, while Roy Hibbert top-scored for the Pacers with 29 points. Paul George added 22 and produced some outstanding defensive work.
“That was a heck of a basketball game wasn’t it?” said Pacers head coach Frank Vogel, whose team never looked intimidated in either of the opening games on the defending champions’ home court.
Photo: Reuters
“This team believe we can win this series and they are giving it all their might, playing with confidence and rising to the challenge,” he added.
The Pacers took full advantage of a slow start by Miami, grabbing a 10-point lead midway through the first quarter and they were up 53-47 at halftime.
With James producing some outstanding play yet again, Miami fought back and led 88-84 with 6 minutes, 9 seconds on the clock, but, as in Wednesday’s Game 1 overtime thriller, the Pacers refused to buckle and came roaring back.
Indiana took the lead with 48 seconds remaining with two George Hill free throws and on the next possession, James’ pass intended for Ray Allen was stolen by David West.
Miami had another chance when a 24-second clock violation on the subsequent Indiana possession gave them the ball back with the game on the line.
James had grabbed the winning score with just 2.2 seconds left in overtime in Game 1 and he had 17.6 seconds to tie or win the game this time.
However, his misplaced pass was collected by Hill, who was then fouled by James.
Hill made the two free throws to secure the victory and a split from Miami’s first two home games.
“LeBron played one of the best basketball games I’ve ever seen anyone play,” Vogel said. “We just were able to make a few plays at the end.”
James, though, was in no mood to reflect on the great play that had come before his turnovers, describing them as “careless.”
“The first thing I always look for on the stat sheet is my turnovers. I had two key ones at a big point in the game. I am very disappointed in my judgement and my plays down the stretch, but I’ll make up for them,” he said.
It was a poor night for Miami’s bench, who managed just 19 points, with Allen, Norris Cole and Shane Battier among those who struggled.
“We have to figure out a way to get our shooters into the game more, instead of trying to get them the ball, and make them make a tough one late in the game,” James said.
The series continues in Indiana today.
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
Spain are the favorites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, but star player Aitana Bonmati’s illness ahead of the tournament raises another question mark around a side which, despite their obvious quality, are not unstoppable. Having claimed the last two Ballon d’Or awards, Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is the game’s biggest star at present, so her absence in the final days before the start of Euro 2025 is a major setback. The 27-year-old came down with a fever in training last week, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with viral meningitis. Bonmati was discharged on Sunday and joined up with
SEMI-FINAL SWEEP: Taiwanese are to take up all four berths in the men’s doubles semi-finals, while three Taiwanese women’s doubles pairings secured spots Taiwan’s badminton ace Chou Tien-chen stayed hot as he secured a semi-final berth in the men’s singles at the US Open at Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Friday. Chou entered the Super 300 tournament as the top seed and breezed past Victor Lai of Canada 21-19, 21-8 in 37 minutes, advancing to the semi-finals for the second straight tournament. Earlier this month, the 35-year-old veteran finished runner-up at the Indonesia Open, becoming the oldest male shuttler to reach a Super 1000-level final. He was set to face Ayush Shetty of India last night after press time for a spot in the final. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Taiwanese
PROMISING TALENT: Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso was pleased with youngster Gonzalo’s performance and compared him to former ‘Los Blancos’ great Raul Spanish giants Real Madrid on Tuesday beat Juventus 1-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final clash against Borussia Dortmund, who edged Mexican side Monterrey. Serhou Guirassy struck twice for the German outfit as they scraped past Sergio Ramos’ side 2-1 in a tight last-16 clash in Atlanta, Georgia, and denied the former Real Madrid skipper a matchup against his former team. Youngster Gonzalo Garcia headed home his third goal of the tournament to help Madrid edge Italian side Juventus at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami earlier. It was an impressive display from Xabi Alonso’s Madrid side,
RSS