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Final Score: Indiana Pacers 107, Miami Heat 96
What Happened:
The Indiana Pacers shook off the mental blocks that had been holding them back on the offensive side of the ball, absolutely wrecking the Miami Heat from beyond the arc (they started out 5-for-6), which opened up quite a few inside looks for a rejuvenated Roy Hibbert. The Heat could not find a way to match up with the Pacers' size and speed either on the perimeter or down low, shuffling lineups to limited effect throughout the contest.
Each member of the Pacers' starting lineup scored in the double digits, absolutely taking the Miami Heat apart from every angle. In contrast, Miami was forced to lean heavily on LeBron James and a banged-up Dwyane Wade, allowing the Pacers to key in on them without worrying about threats elsewhere on offense.
The Pacers also absolutely lived at the free throw line down the stretch, completely suffocating the Miami's chances to mount any sort of comeback.
The 107 points that the Pacers scored marks their highest output in the 2014 NBA Playoffs, and was just the second time in these playoffs that they've scored 100 points or more (Game 2 against the Hawks).
Where do we go from here:
The Pacers can't allow this to be a one-and-done show of strength. They need to back away from this victory as soon as they can and realize that they still have home-court advantage to protect in Game 2.
If an angry Heat team blows the Pacers out of the building on Tuesday night, all of this was for nothing. The Heat will have seized the momentum and home-court advantage, along with perhaps full control of the series.
Game 2 is at 8:30 pm EST on Tuesday night, and will be broadcast on ESPN. Stay tuned to Chat Sports for all the latest from Indiana.
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