James, Bosh combine for 57 points as Heat take 3-1 series lead over Pacers
LeBron James and Chris Bosh were too much for the Indiana Pacers to handle on Monday. James scored 32 and Bosh added 25 to lead the Miami Heat to a 102-90 victory in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final.
James also finished with 10 rebounds and five assists. The Heat are one game away from their fourth consecutive NBA Finals appearance.
Star Performer
The beginning of the contest belonged to Bosh, with the lanky center scoring the Heat's first eight points en route to putting up 17 in the first half, but the night belonged to James, who entered the game getting chirped by Indiana's Lance Stephenson.
James responded with his best game of the series, slicing through the Pacers' defense for many acrobatic layups and dunks, while Stephenson struggled to score nine points and found himself in foul trouble early.
James' performance also moved him ahead of Michael Jordan in the postseason record books:
LeBron (74) has surpassed Michael Jordan (73) for the most #NBAPlayoffs games with 25+ pts, 5+ rbs & 5+ asts! pic.twitter.com/0wxRF2OvcU
— NBA (@NBA) May 27, 2014
Turning Point
The Pacers pulled within five points at halftime, but James silenced any talk of a rally by scoring seven of Miami's first nine points as part of a 9-1 run to open the second half. James scored 14 as part of the Heat's 31 points in the third quarter and Indiana could not recover from the 16-point hole it was in heading into the fourth.
Highlight Reel
James' best dunk was this one-handed spinaround slam near the end of the first half:
Dwyane Wade created a turnover with this textbook flop in the fourth quarter. It might cost him a $5,000 fine, but he probably has no problem paying it as long as Miami is playing in the Finals.
Pacers center Roy Hibbert had another rough playoff outing, posting zero points, five rebounds and four personal fouls in 22:14. The expression on his face says it all:
Roy Hibbert is doing well pic.twitter.com/qthMBjDg7q
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) May 27, 2014
Quote of the Night
David West, who finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers, had an interesting way of describing the officiating in a game where his team committed 27 fouls to Miami's 17.
David West smiling when asked about foul differential. "There were some new rules tonight."
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) May 27, 2014
Series at a Glance
Game 1: IND 107, MIA 96 (Pacers lead series 1-0)
Game 2: MIA 87, IND 83 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: MIA 99, IND 87 (Heat lead series 2-1)
Game 4: MIA 102, IND 90 (Heat lead series 3-1)
Game 5: Wednesday, May 28 - 8:30 p.m. ET
Game 6*: Friday, May 20 - TBD
Game 7*: Sunday, June 1 - TBD