For the second year in a row, the Indiana Pacers have taken two games from the Miami Heat in the playoffs. The Heat and Pacers will square off at American Airlines Arena in Miami tonight at 8:00 p.m., in a pivotal Game 5 matchup of a series knotted at two games each. The game will be shown on TNT and can be live streamed free of charge by clicking this link. Heat fans can hear the game on 560 WQAM while Pacers fans can do likewise by tuning in to 1070 The Fan.
While this is the second time in as many years the Pacers have taken two playoff games from Miami, this time around the feeling is different. Paul George has looked the part of a star in the making, and he has bothered LeBron James on the perimeter and forced some inefficiency out of him.
While at times James has been able to overcome Indiana's tremendous team defense, other times he has not looked like himself. Game 4 was one of those times, when James shot 8-of-18 from the floor and fouled out of a playoff game for just the second time in his career.
Still, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra believes the championship pedigree and competitiveness of his team will eventually overpower the hungry challengers.
"We have a great locker room of Alpha competitors," Spoelstra said. "And so they take this very seriously. We're playing against a worthy opponent and if we don't play well, they beat us. If they don't play well and we impose our identity, we beat them. That's what this is all about. So let's lace 'em up and let's get ready for Game 5."
As for the Pacers, head coach Frank Vogel knows they will have to play their best basketball of the season to knock off the defending champs, and four-time MVP on the road. "We've got to be at our best," Vogel said. "Our intensity, our determination, our focus, we've got to keep getting better if we're going to beat this team."
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