The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league and one of the Big Four major sports leagues in North America. With thirty franchised member clubs (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada), the NBA is widely considered to be the premier men's professional basketball league in the world. It is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB), which is recognized by FIBA (also known as the International Basketball Federation) as the national governing body for basketball in the United States. The NBA is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues. According to Goldaper (2010) NBA players are the world's best paid sportsmen, by average annual salary per player.
The league was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league adopted the name National Basketball Association in 1949 after absorbing the rival National Basketball League (NBL). The league's several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices located in the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in New York City. NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, New Jersey.
The Miami Heat knew that they were going to win game 7. The Pacers have always had bad luck game 7s. They never won a game when they went to game 7. The game was close throughout the game. There were many lead changes. The Miami Heat really started playing good in the third quarter and were able to do to in the fourth. According to Coleman (2013). The Pacers luck has run out.(p.n.d)
According to Marot (2013), Roy Hibbert did everything but pull out the boxing gloves in Game 6, finishing with 24 points and 11 rebounds, and continually contesting Miami's shots to help Indiana stave off elimination with an emphatic 91-77 victory over the defending champs (p.nd). Paul George scored 28 points, had 8 rebounds and 5 assists, and the Pacers held Miami to 36.1 percent shooting as they booked a trip back to Miami for Game 7 on Monday night (Marot,2013,p.nd). The Pacers face another monumental task: beat Miami on the road and become the first team in the series to win consecutive games-all the more difficult considering the Heat haven't lost two in a row since January (Zillgitt,2013,p.nd). Miami is now 9-3 in games in which it had a chance to close out the series since the formation of the Big 3 in 2010, James and Chris Bosh joining Heat star Dwyane Wade. According to Zillgitt (2013), this will be just the second Game 7 for Miami since it beat the Boston Celtics in the final game of the last season's conference finals (p.nd).
The Miami Heat beat the Pacers, and now they are going to the NBA Finals for the 3rd consecutive time. LeBron James scored 32 points, and grabbed 8 rebounds, ailing Dwyane Wade matched his postseason with 21 points, and the Heat ran away from the Indiana Pacers 99-76 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference series on Monday night (Reynolds,2013,p.nd). Miami forced 15 1st half turnovers and won the battle on the offensive glass, out rebounding Indiana, 43-36, after loosing the same battle by 20 in Game 6 (Sherman,2013,p.nd). According to Sherman (2013), Miami was aggressive defensively without being predictable (p.nd). For the Pacers, Roy Hibbert scored 18 points, David West 14, George Hill 13 and 10 from Stephenson; Paul George had 7 points on 2-for-9 shooting and fouled out early in the 4th quarter (Reynolds,2013,p.nd). According to Reynolds (2013), Miami went 2-0 against San Antonio this season, though neither of those games should be considered harbingers of what's ahead (p.nd). The Spurs rested four regulars in the first meeting, the Heat were without three injured starters in the second match up.
References:
Marot (2013) Pacers even up series with 91-77 win over Heat. Retrieved from: www.nba.com/games/20130601/MIAIND/gameinfo.html?ls=pot
Zillgitt (2013) Pacers frustrate LeBron James Heat to force Game 7. Retrieved from: www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/playoffs/2013/06/01/miami-heat-vs-indiana-pacers-game-6-score-eastern-conference-finals/2381425/
Reynolds (2013) Heat off to Finals, beat Pacers 99-76 in Game 7. Retrieved from: www.nba.com/games/20130603/INDMIA/gameinfo.html
Sherman (2013) NBA Playoffs 2013, Pacers vs Heat Game 7: LeBron James, Miami blow Indiana out, headed to NBA Finals. Retrieved from: www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/6/3/4393562/2013-nba-playoffs-heat-vs-pacers-game-7-results-score
According to Leibowitz (2013), the matchups are set in the Finals which is the Heat against the Spurs. The first game that they will face each other is on June 6, 2013. The Miami Heat seem to have had a lot of trouble with the Pacers in the last round so they might also have trouble in this round. The Miami Heat are playing veteran players in the Spurs who have experienced the Finals a few times and won a few times. The Heat have also gone to the Finals 3 consecutive years including this year and only won one.
According to Klein (2013), LeBron James is looking to get his second championship ring while Tim Duncan aims to win his fifth ring. The lineups might be a problem for the Heat because they have tall and good rebounders in Spurs while the Heat have bad rebounders. It will all depend on LeBron if he is able to carry his team to win all the games in the Finals. On the other team, Tony Parker will most likely be the reason why they might win it because he has played like an MVP this year and deserves to get a ring for his leadership.
The heat had an advantage going into game 6. They were leading 3-2. If they won that game then they would have moved to the finals. The Pacers also didn't quit. They knew that they couldn't afford to lose the game after all the things they have been through. According to Schuhmann (2013), the Miami Heat didnt take the game seriously and the Pacers took advantage of it.(p.n.d)
Reference:
Schuhmann (2013) Pacers and Heat needed to game 7.
Retrieved from:
hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2013/06/04/pacers-and-heat-headed-to-game-7/?ls=iref:nbahpts
According to Walsh (2013), the Indiana Pacers dominated in Game 6. As a result of that, now they forced a Game 7 with the Miami Heat. The Indiana scored 91 while the Heat only scored 77. The Miami Heat all stars, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade only scored 15 points combined. It was LeBron who tried to lead the team to victory with 29 points but they couldn't. On the Pacers, Paul George and Roy Hibbert have a combined score of 52. The Miami Heat couldn't stop Hibbert in the post and George at the three.
According to Walsh (2013), the Miami Heat defeated the Indiana Pacers 99-76. This closed the series 4-3 which means that the Miami Heat are moving on the finals against the Spurs. Erik Spoelstra, the Miami Heat coach, made some adjustments to stop Roy Hibbert from the paint and it worked unlike the last few games. They outsmarted the Pacers defensively and offensively. They also had more rebounds than the Pacers and forced 21 turnovers on them. In the finals the Miami Heat might have the disadvantage because they will be tired. They only have 2 days of rest while the Spurs has been rested for a week now.
References:
Malsh (2013). Heat vs Pacers: Game 6 Score, Highlights, and Analysis
Retrieved from: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1658900-miami-heat-vs-indiana-pacers-game-6-score-highlights-and-analysis/
Malsh (2013). Heat vs Pacers: Game 7 Score, Highlights, and Analysis
Retrieved from: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1660735-indiana-pacers-vs-miami-heat-game-7-score-highlights-and-analysis/
Lebron James had an incredible game in which he had 30 points, 6 assists and 8 rebounds. According to Zillgitt (2013), you could sense Lebron James power surge coming in South Florida (p.nd). The Heat was loosing by 4 points at halftime, but Miami was able to take control of the game and the series in the 3rd quarter and pushed Indiana to the brink of elimination (Garrison,2013,p.nd). A 3rd quarter of the ages by the four-time MVP turned the game and perhaps the entire Eastern Conference Finals, around (Reynolds,2013,p.nd). According to Zillgitt (2013), as soon as the Miami Heat MVP fouled out at the end of the Indiana Pacers' Game 4 victory, you could feel him planning to unleash the full extent of his talents the next time out (p.nd). Lebron James had one of the best games of his career on Thursday night. Erik Spoelstra showed his happiness by saying "That's LeBron showing his greatness and making it look easy; he was tireless, he was making plays on both ends of the court (Reynolds,2013,p.nd).
Udonis Haslem also had a great night, he had 16 points and made his last 8 shots. Mario Chalmers scored 12 points and Dwyane Wade added 10 points for the Heat, who demolish the Pacers in 6 games in a second round match up last season and will look to do the same this time around, albeit one round deeper (Reynolds,2013,p.nd). According to Zillgitt (2013), Indiana's guards were unproductive; starter George Hill and Lance Stephenson and backup D.J.Agustin were 2-for-13 from the field and combined for 5 points (p.nd). Chris Andersen shaved Indiana's Tyler Harisbrough with 9:02 left in the second quarter; referees called a flagrant foul and a double technical foul on both, but NBA will review the incident and could upgrade it to a flagrant foul two (Zillgitt,2013,p.nd). According to Reynolds (2013), Paul George had 27 points and 11 rebounds, Roy Hibbert had 22 points and David West had 17 points (p.nd). Now the Pacers have to win back-to-back games against a team that hasn't lost consecutive games since early January (Reynolds,2013,p.nd). The Heat are now one win away from their third straight trip to the NBA Finals; Game 6 is on Saturday night and will be in Indiana (Garrison,2013,p.nd)
References:
Reynolds (2013) James scored 30, Heat take Game 5, 90-79. Retrieved from: www.nba.com/games/20130530/INDMIA/gameinfo.html?ls=pot
Garrison (2013) Pacers vs Heat Game 5, NBA Playoffs 2013: Heat push Pacers to brink of elimination after 90-79 win. Retrieved from: www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/5/30/4381838/2013-nba-playoffs-heat-vs-pacers-game-5-score-results-lebron-james
Zillgitt (2013) LeBron James explodes as Heat rout Pacers in Game 5. Retrieved from: www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/playoffs/2013/05/30/miami-heat-vs-indiana-pacers-game-5-score-eastern-conference-finals-lebron-james/2373883
The Oklahoma city thunder's are an American professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma city, Oklahoma. According to Mayberry (2008) they play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA); their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Thunder's NBA Development League affiliate is the Tulsa 66ers, who are owned by the Thunder(P.N.D). The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). According to Elliot (2003) After Hayes was traded, Moses Malone was later acquired to replace him. Malone went on to win the MVP award twice, and lead Houston to the conference finals in his first year with the team (P.N.D).
Mayberry. D (2008): "Thunders history." Retrieved from: http://newsok.com/article/3232776/1208751773
Elliot. K (2003): "Rockets history" Retrieved from: http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/draft.html
In game 4, the Pacers were off to a great start. They had an 11-0 run in the beginning of the game. After that Miami started to score and had a 7-0 run. The Heat were over the foul limit by the end of the first.The Pacers lead throughout the whole game until the fourth quarter. According to Aschburner (2013), Chris Bosh may be the Miami Heat player who needs to foul out.(p.n.d)
The Heat tied up and were even up by 6 points in the fourth. Once again they started committing turnovers. LeBron James also fouled out of the game. The final score was 99-92. According to NBA news (2013), Miami's LeBron James and Indiana's David West and Lance Stephenson were all fined $5,000 by the NBA for flopping.(p.n.d)
The Indiana Pacers were lost on this game, and they couldn't control Lebron and his teammates (Marot,2013,p.nd). Lebron had help in this game, and the Heat hot that win because of that. The move allowed Miami to outscored 56-32 in the paint. The Indiana record fell (6-0), now it's 6-1 at home in the playoffs, and the Heat now have a record of 5-0 on the road (Marot,2013,p.nd). Miami broke the franchise playoff record for points in a half (70 points) and fell one point short of tying the third-highest point total in a playoff game in franchise history (ESPN,2013,p.nd). According to ESPN (2013), Chris Andersen has made 16 consecutive shots in the playoffs (p.nd). For the Pacers, David West led Indiana with 21 points and 17 rebounds, while Roy Hibbert had 20 points and 17 rebounds, Paul George finished with 13 points and 8 assists, not nearly enough to keep the Pacers perfect at home in the postseason (Marot,2013,p.nd).
The Indiana Pacers put things in order in Game 4, and they even up the series. The Pacers players promised to treat Game 4 as if they were playing a decisive Game 7 and it showed (ESPN,2013,p.nd). According to ESPN (2013), the Pacers relentlessly attacked the basket, continually won the battle for loose balls, dominated the glass and turned the tables on Miami yet again (p.nd). According to ESPN (2013), just like that the Eastern Conference Finals are tied at 2 and the pressure has swung back to Miami (p.nd). Roy Hibbert finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds, Lance Stephenson added 20 points, and the Pacers closed the game on a 16-6 run to pull away from the defending Champs for a 99-92 victory (Marot,2013,p.nd). According to Marot (2013), Bosh finished with 7 points, Wade with 16 and no Miami starter had more than 6 rebounds (p.nd). Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said "That's what the series is about, who can get to who and do it for longer periods of time, they kept us out of the paint, we'll just have to do it better".
References:
ESPN (2013) LeBron James goes to work down low, helps Heat by Pacers in Game 3. Retrieved from: scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=400466596
Marot (2013) Heat offense puts away Pacers 114-96 in Game 3. Retrieved from: www.nba.com/games/20130526/MIAIND/gameinfo.html?ls=pot
ESPN (2013) Pacers charge back to even East finals at 2. Retrieved from: scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=400466597
Marot (2013) Pacers get even with Miami after 99-92 victory. Retrieved from: www.nba.com/games/20130528/MIAIND/gameinfo.html?ls=pot
