By Dandy Isma
CSMS Magazine
Last night, it was a big disappointment for the Miami Heat fans. Just when the nation thought the Heat had it locked in, the young pacers from Indiana proved everyone wrong. From the get-go, the Heat was slacking off. At some point in the game, Lebron James tried to regain the initiative. But his efforts as well as that of his teammates were no match with a stubborn young team from Indiana that refused to be defeated. In the end, it was a rout. They went on to beat Miami 91-77. In South Florida, it was consternation.
But on Thursday, it was a different story. Miami Heat shined before a packed stadium and before millions of TV viewers across the globe. Dwyane Wade and his playmates moved within striking distance of returning back to the NBA Finals to defend their title. Lebron James did more than help the cause by outscoring the whole Indiana Pacer team in the 3rd quarter 16 to 13. The pacers only had one field goal in the final eight minutes in the 3rd quarter.
The Heat also had big contributions from Miami Heat captain Udonis Haslem—the only Miami heat member other than Dwyane Wade that has been with the team for more than 10 years. He gave Miami a huge scoring punch in the 3rd quarter with 10 points in the period. Point Guard Mario Chalmers also chipped in with 15 points of his own to round out a very well balanced effort by the whole team.
As for the Indiana Pacers, they couldn’t seem to adjust to whenever Miami decided to change up its game plans on them. They put up a very good fight against Miami. Their defense has been flawless against Miami but they just couldn’t score enough to win the game.
All Miami had to do last night was to win game 6 and they would have been on their way to another trip to the NBA Finals which begins next Thursday June 6th. For now, though, the hope is on shaky ground. But Miami can still do it in game 7. This is the team that likes to play the game of brinkmanship. They’ve done it before, as many experts say. One has reasons to believe they can do it again.
Note: Dandy Isma is Psychology Major at University of North Florida. He lives in suburban Jacksonville. He is a sport commentator for CSMS Magazine.
