Heat Blast Pacers, Advance to Third Straight NBA Finals
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Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images(MIAMI) — The Miami Heat had a 15 point lead at halftime and never led by less than 12 from there, as the Heat steam rolled the Indiana Pacers 99-76, to advance to the NBA Finals.
LeBron James scored a game high 32 points and Dwyane Wade had a solid night contributing 21 points and nine rebounds.
Wade, who has been dealing with knee issues for months, had struggled the past two games, scoring ten points in each of them. But this was a Game 7, and Wade wasn’t going to go down quietly.
“I got a lot of opportunities tonight and physically I did everything I could to feel as good as I can, Wade said when asked about his Game 7 performance. “It was a Game 7…You know these are the Conference Finals…So nothing mattered.”
The Heat now advance to take on the San Antonio Spurs, a team James met in the 2007 Finals when he played for Cleveland. That year the Spurs went on to sweep James and the Cavaliers, but James feels things are different this time.
“I’m a much better player,” James said when comparing himself to the James of 2007. “I’m 20, 40, 50 times better than I was in the 07 Finals.”
We’ll soon see if a better James means a better result for his team. Spurs/Heat Game 1 is Thursday in Miami. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. Eastern on ABC.
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