LeBron James and the Miami Heat completely dominated the Indiana Pacers during Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, earning them a third consecutive trip to the NBA Finals with a score of 99-76. This time they will meet the San Antonio Spurs.
Dwayne Wade showed up to help LeBron dominate the Pacers. LeBron led the way with 32pts, 8rebs, 4ast, 2 stls while Wade chipped in 21pts and 9rebs. It was close after the first quarter, but then LeBron took over and the game was basically over at halftime. The Pacers’ inability to score consistently, especially the bench players, was on full display tonight as the Heat kept the defensive pressure at a high level all game long.
One of the more interesting parts of the second half wasn’t even related to the outcome of the game. Norris Cole fought through a screen set by Jeff Pendergraph and Pendergraph didn’t appreciate it and shoved Cole to the sideline, causing him to be ejected. Cole doesn’t retaliate, but apparently clenched his fist in some sort of boxer stance and that was enough to get him ejected while Pendergraph kept talking and yelling at Cole. Flo Rida’s manager, who was sitting courtside, ended up getting into a verbal spat with Pendergraph and he also got ejected. It was a really weird situation, see for yourself:
Now, the Heat will attempt to defend their title starting in Miami on Thursday, June 6th against the Spurs. It will be an interesting series considering these teams have some history this season. Early in the season, the Spurs sent Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green back to San Antonio early when the team was in Miami to play the Heat. The Spurs ended up getting fined $250,000 for having them miss the game for no medical reason.
And knowing the type of competitor that LeBron James is, I’m sure he won’t forget the Spurs swept his Cavaliers in his first ever Finals appearance. Revenge is strong motivator and LeBron is playing at the top of his game right now. I’ll take the Heat in 6 games.
[Photo Credit: Streetball.com]
