NBA Playoffs 2013 schedule: LeBron James steps up as Heat win Game 5

Stern was a guest on NBC Sports Radio’s “Speaking of Sports with Rob Simmelkjaer” and had this to say about Andersen’s controversial outburst, via Pro Basketball Talk:

If you haven’t seen the altercation, here’s Andersen blindsiding Hansbrough and pushing him once he was back on his feet:

But I’m going to take issue with James’ statement in this respect. He didn’t really go back to his Cleveland days to get this Game 5 win. He actually moved forward, carrying Miami while being deployed in a completely different way than he was several years ago.

In this series, though, we’ve seen the full growth of LeBron James 2.0, a process that began last season. In Game 3, James parked himself on the low block and dominated Indiana from the post. In Game 5, though, he shifted to the pinch post, the area at the top of the key between the elbow and the three-point line. From there, he acted as the hub of the offense, both with his scoring and in other ways.

“I took it upon myself to stop waiting and just go,” James said after the game.

When asked about what he saw in James, Haslem said it was the same look James had against Boston in the playoffs last season. “It’ s just a look of determination. It’s a look that says I’m not going to quit.” Haslem added that James’ look “says I’m going to do whatever it takes to put us in position to win the game.”

Like last game, when Indiana came out hot, and Miami struggled to keep up. Dwyane Wade was a mess on offense, stumbling into bad shots and turnovers. Mario Chalmers looked like the only guy willing to drive to the rim, and the combination of Paul George and Roy Hibbert was rolling with little hindrance.

Here’s a little lowlight reel of early shots courtesy of Udonis Haslem, Wade and Norris Cole (who gets my nod for worst shot of the series, and possibly the playoffs):

James’ emotion was evident again after hitting a three during a 16-point third quarter. TNT cut off James juuuust in time.

LeBron James: also “not nice”.

James finished the night with a game-high 30 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

The Heat continued rolling through the fourth quarter while the Pacers struggled to get back into rhythm. Indiana’s solid first half was a distant memory, as Miami dominated the second half.

Usually when you set a screen in basketball, the goal is to impede a defender, thereby opening up space for the ballhandler.

Usually you don’t want to impede your teammate. Not a good screen, Mr. Hibbert.

This?

Yeah, don’t do that anymore. Thanks.

Hibbert and Paul George combined for all 23 of the Pacers’ first-quarter points. It wasn’t until the 9:02 mark in the second quarter that another member of the Pacers scored. The Pacers held the lead through the first half, but Miami had a strong second quarter and had the game tied with under two minutes left in the half.

Let’s take a look at the three keys Mike Jones outlined going into Game 5.

Anyway, here’s another airball from Wade. He knows these are bad, right?

Andersen seemed to be so offended that he wanted to continue on.

As the tiny referee desperately tried to hold him back, the officials awarded Andersen and Hansbrough a technical foul each, to many viewers’ confusion. The referees went to the tape to decide further, and then gave Andersen an additional flagrant 1 foul. It will be interesting to see if the league reviews this in the post-mortem and decides to give any further penalties.

With the series tied at two, Miami is starting to feel some pressure, leading one fan to make this sign.

I can hear Wade now: “All the stars and role players will look up and shout ‘Save us!’... and I’ll look down and whisper ‘No.’”

The Pacers did their job and made things difficult for the defending champs, who shot just 39 percent from the field in Game 4.

At home, however, it could be a different story for Miami. The Heat went 37-4 at home during the regular season and averaged seven more points per game than they did on the road (106.4 vs. 99.4 ppg). They remained relatively stable on the defensive end, as well.

In Game 4, the Pacers reclaimed their identity as a defensive-minded team. They held the defending champs to just 39 percent from the field and 35 percent from the three-point line.

But don’t think for a second that it hurt the Heat’s confidence going into an all-important Game 5.