Heat seeking answers after ugly loss at Indiana

Miami's fearsome threesome has suddenly become a one-man show.

It's already cost the Heat one chance to reach the NBA Finals, and if they don't get things fixed by Monday, the vanishing act could leave the defending champs home sooner than anyone anticipated.

Four-time MVP LeBron James scored 29 points, had seven rebounds and six assists, but Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade couldn't even match those numbers together on Saturday night in Miami's 91-77 loss that left the Eastern Conference finals tied at 3-3.

Wade finished with 10 points, two rebounds and one assist, while Bosh added five points, four rebounds and no assists for the Heat, who will host Game 7 on Monday.

"My rhythm seems off, it's been like that the whole series," Bosh said. "Now I have to go and find it. I've got 48 hours to do that."

Perhaps Bosh's poor showing in this series is a result of Miami's decision to leave him on the perimeter to try to draw Roy Hibbert and David West out of the paint.

For the most part, it hasn't worked. Hibbert had another double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while David West added 11 points and 14 rebounds despite playing through an upper respiratory infection.

Wade's late-season fade has been considered a result of his injured right knee. The perennial All-Star and two-time NBA champ wouldn't bite on it.

"I don't want to talk about the knee," he said. "I haven't talked about it for the last two months, and I'm not about to start now."

Instead, the league's most dominant team will spend the next two days preparing for what most people believed inconceivable when this series began - a one-game shot to save the season.

Hibbert did everything but pull out the boxing gloves in Game 6, continually contesting Miami's shots to help Indiana stave off elimination.

Paul George scored 28 points, had eight rebounds and five assists, and the Pacers held Miami to 36.1 percent shooting as they booked a trip back to Miami for Game 7 on Monday night.

"Myself and David, we throw ourselves in the fray, in the paint. We like to muck it up," Hibbert said. "Paul and myself, we wanted to make sure we got this for him as well. We didn't want this to be our last game."

It wasn't.

The Pacers have pushed James and his high-scoring, high-profile teammates to the brink of elimination by punching back, and Game 6 followed a familiar story line. The Pacers had a 53-33 rebounding advantage, outscored Miami 44-22 in the paint and limited Miami's shooters to 16 of 54, 29.6 percent, from inside the arc.

How have the Pacers done it? With Hibbert controlling the inside after adding MMA training to his offseason regiment.

"Roy Hibbert is making extraordinary plays in the pocket, poise in the pocket we call it," coach Frank Vogel said. "He's getting paint catches and just having great poise, great reads. He's not plowing over guys. He had a charge in Game 5, but has been under control."

It was everything an elimination game should be. The teams traded baskets and jabs, sometimes literally, and players ignored the bumps and bruises of yet another wrestling match that has made this tough-guy series compelling.

Both teams attacked the basket, sometimes with problematic results. Indiana missed about five dunk attempts in the first half and a series of short jumpers, too, costing it precious points.

The Heat struggled, meanwhile, starting the game 3 of 22 from inside the 3-point line. Miami's Big Three - James, Wade and Bosh - went 14 of 40. Excluding James, Miami managed 16 baskets - eight 3s and eight 2s.

With Chris "Birdman" Andersen suspended for the game because of a shoving incident with Indiana forward Tyler Hansbrough on Thursday, the Heat couldn't keep up with Indiana's big rebounders inside. Even Lance Stephenson, who was ineffective at Miami, finished with four points, 12 rebounds and four assists.

Indiana's loud crowd created a hostile atmosphere, too. Fans chanted "Heat Are Floppers!" sporadically throughout the second half, urging the Pacers to play harder, to defend better and to make another trip home. The only way to do that is to win Game 7 and avoid a second straight playoff elimination at the hands of the Heat.

(China Daily 06/03/2013 page24)