With the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers tied 2-2 headed into a pivotal Game 5 in Miami, tensions between the two teams continue to mount.
Pacers vs. Heat: David West, Roy Hibbert accuse Shane Battier of ‘dirty play’
The Indiana big men said the Miami forward has been going after their knees in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE
Earlier in the series, Roy Hibbert said Shane Battier was purposefully using his knees in mid-air to ward off defenders. On Thursday, David West upped the ante, saying that Battier has been going after his knees, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com:
“I always have my guard up and protect my knees,” West said. “(Battier) has got this funny way of moving into your knees. We’re very conscious of that. We talk about making sure we protect our knees.”
Miami has been trying to use the 6’8, 225-pound Battier to defend the much bigger Indiana big men in this series, with very mixed results. He doesn’t have the size to play behind them, so he’s had to use every trick in the book to try to slow them down.
For more on this series: Heat blog Hot Hot Hoops Pacers blog Indy Cornrows
For the Pacers, some of those tricks cross the line, with Hibbert outright calling Battier “dirty.” With so much on the line on Thursday, though, nothing they say will have much of an effect on how Battier plays the game.
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