MIAMI — Their season, their legacy, their reign atop the NBA was all at stake, and the Miami Heat responded in a manner befitting defending champions — with a blowout.
LeBron James scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds, ailing Dwyane Wade matched his postseason high with 21 points, and the Heat ran away from the Indiana Pacers 99-76 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday night.
The Heat will play the San Antonio Spurs for the NBA title in a series that starts Thursday in Miami.
Miami led by as many as 28 points, a shocking amount for a series that had an aggregate score of Heat 569, Pacers 564 entering Monday night. The Heat actually trailed by six in the early going, were still down 21-19 after the first quarter and it was starting to look like it was going to be one of those down-to-the-wire nights.
Not even close.
James exited with 5:08 left, shaking retired soccer star David Beckham’s hand as he made his way to the Heat bench for a relatively subdued celebration. Not long afterward, security personnel started what’s become a familiar task in Miami — surrounding the court and stretching out a yellow rope, preparing to hold people at bay for the looming on-court trophy presentation.
More than a few people didn’t stick around to see the East title formally presented. After all, it’s an all-or-nothing season for the Heat — and this trophy isn’t the one that will satisfy them.
Ray Allen added 10 points for Miami, which earned its 78th victory of the season, matching the 11th-best, single-season total in NBA history.
Roy Hibbert scored 18 points for the Pacers, who got 14 from David West, 13 from George Hill and 10 from Lance Stephenson. All-Star Paul George was held to seven points on 2-for-9 shooting and fouled out early in the fourth quarter.
George was the last Indiana player on the floor as Miami prepped for its postgame celebration, shaking any hand he could find before being walked toward the visiting locker room by Pacers coach Frank Vogel, who slung an arm over his star’s shoulder.
His time will likely come — someday.
Not yet, though. Not with this Miami team built for titles.
It’s the fourth trip to the finals for the Heat, who won the title in 2006 and have now been there all three years of the “Big Three” era, falling to Dallas in 2011 and then topping Oklahoma City in five games last year.
Heat 99, Pacers 76
INDIANA (76)
George 2-9 2-4 7, West 6-15 2-3 14, Hibbert 7-11 4-5 18, Hill 4-14 2-2 13, Stephenson 4-8 0-0 10, Augustin 0-0 2-2 2, T.Hansbrough 2-2 2-2 6, Young 0-1 0-0 0, Mahinmi 0-0 0-2 0, Green 1-5 0-0 2, Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Pendergraph 1-2 0-0 2, B.Hansbrough 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-69 14-20 76.
MIAMI (99)
James 8-17 15-16 32, Haslem 1-4 1-2 3, Bosh 3-13 2-2 9, Chalmers 3-8 1-2 7, Wade 7-16 7-7 21, Miller 0-3 0-0 0, Allen 3-6 1-1 10, Andersen 1-3 5-6 7, Cole 3-4 1-2 8, Lewis 1-2 0-0 2, Anthony 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-76 33-38 99.
Indiana 21 16 18 21—76
Miami 19 33 24 23—99
3-Point Goals—Indiana 6-20 (Hill 3-7, Stephenson 2-4, George 1-4, Young 0-1, Green 0-4), Miami 6-16 (Allen 3-5, Cole 1-1, Bosh 1-2, James 1-2, Lewis 0-1, Chalmers 0-2, Miller 0-3). Fouled Out—George. Rebounds—Indiana 43 (Hibbert 8), Miami 55 (Wade 9). Assists—Indiana 14 (Stephenson 5), Miami 14 (Cole, James 4). Total Fouls—Indiana 28, Miami 22. Technicals—Pendergraph, Indiana defensive three second, Cole. Ejected—Pendergraph, Cole. A—20,025 (19,600).
