1 Indiana Pacers at 2 Miami Heat
Heat lead series 3-2 coming in
Elimination Game for Pacers
Throughout the regular season there was question as to who was the best team in the Eastern Conference. Here in the playoffs? There isn’t a doubt. Lebron James and Chris Bosh each had 25 points, D-Wade and Rashard Lewis each added 13 and the Heat routed Indiana 117-92 to advance to the NBA finals for a 4th straight year, seeking a 3rd straight championship.
“I’m blessed. Very blessed. Very humbled,” LBJ said. “And we won’t take this opportunity for granted. It’s an unbelievable franchise, it’s an unbelievable group. And we know we still have work to do, but we won’t take this for granted. We’re going to four straight Finals and we will never take this for granted.”
The Heat lead by as much as 37 and won their 11th straight home playoff game, a franchise record. “The group loves to compete and loves to compete at the highest level, and be pushed to new levels,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
For the second year in a row the Pacers fell to the Heat in the Conference Finals “It’s bitterly disappointing to fall short of our goals,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “It’s bitterly disappointing to lose to this team three years in a row. But we’re competing against the Michael Jordan of our era, the Chicago Bulls of our era, and you have to tip your hats to them for the way they played this whole series.”
Only three other times in NBA history has a team gone to the Finals at least 4 times in a row.
| Team |
App |
| Celtics (1957-66) |
10 |
| Celtics (1984-87) |
4 |
| Lakers (1982-85) |
4 |
| Heat (2011-14) |
4 |
1 San Antonio Spurs at 2 Oklahoma City Thunder
Spurs lead 3-2 Going In
Elimination Game for Thunder
Even after their best player was injured the Spurs still pulled through, setting up an NBA finals rematch with a 112-107 OT win over the Thunder. Last year the Spurs blew a 3-2 lead to lose the finals to the Heat. “People keep talking like we weren’t close to winning, but we were ready to win last year,” Spurs center Tim Duncan said. “We’re happy it’s the Heat again. We’ve got that bad taste in our mouths still.”
Tim Duncan had 19 points and 15 rebounds, Boris Diaw had 26 and Manu Ginobli added 15 points and 6 rebounds for the Spurs, even with San Antonio point guard Tony Parker missing the entire second half. “We didn’t know how much Tony was hurt in his ankle,” Diaw said. “But we didn’t want to go to Game 7, and we didn’t know if he would be ready to play if we did or if he would be 100 percent, so we tried to get it over with tonight.”
Russell Westbrook had 34 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 6 steals and NBA MVP Kevin Durant had 31 points and 14 rebounds but 20 Thunder turnovers led to 33 Spurs points and everything went downhill for OKC. “We started settling for too many jump shots,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “It just seemed like we couldn’t get enough good looks at the basket. Defensively, they just had us scrambling around.”
Derek Fisher played what could have been his final game as a player on Saturday night.
“Obviously, there are a number of people that are going to be impacted by the decision I do make whether I continue to play or [if] I decide to do something else within the game,” Fisher, who is a candidate to be the New York Knicks . “Whatever it is, there is a lot at stake. I’m not going to rush. I’m not going to be emotional.It’s possible that this does symbolize the end of a truly long career,” he added. “I don’t think based on the emotions that I’m feeling right now that it’s smart to start betting on what I will do next.
