Pacers neutralize Heat’s home-court advantage
Miami — David West scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and George Hill added 15 as the Indiana Pacers took home-court advantage away from Miami by beating the Heat 78-75 in Game 2 of the teams’ Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday.
LeBron James scored 28 points for Miami and Dwyane Wade finished with 24, but both missed big chances for the Heat late. James missed two free throws with 54.3 seconds left and Miami down one, and Wade was short on a layup that would have tied the game with 16 seconds remaining.
Mario Chalmers’ 3-pointer to tie bounced away on the final play, and the series was tied 1-1.
Danny Granger scored 11 points and Paul George added 10 for Indiana, which took advantage of Heat forward Chris Bosh’s absence and outrebounded Miami 50-40.
Game 3 is Thursday in Indianapolis.
James had a chance to give Miami the lead with 1:22 left, but his shot was blocked from behind by George, who was fouled two seconds later. He missed both free throws, keeping the Indiana lead at 76-75. And after Wade missed a jumper, James was fouled by Granger — his sixth — battling for the rebound with 54.3 seconds remaining.
James couldn’t connect on either, and the Heat didn’t score again.
Bosh is expected to miss the rest of the series with a strained abdominal muscle. Without him, James and Wade combined for 52 points — and no other Miami player scored more than five.
Spurs 108,
Clippers 92
At San Antonio, Tim Duncan had 26 points and 10 rebounds as San Antonio, recharged after a weeklong layoff, wore down the busy Los Angeles Clippers to win Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series.
Playing for the sixth time in 11 days, the Clippers gave San Antonio its toughest first half of the playoffs before fading fast. And unlike their stunning Game 1 comeback at Memphis in the first round, they didn’t have the wind this time.
Manu Ginobili added 22 points for the Spurs, who’ve won 15 in a row. It’s the longest winning streak sustained in the NBA playoffs since the 2004 Spurs won 17 straight. /ap
