The Pacers wanted the chance for a Game Seven in their building. Their whole season was built toward that goal. They felt they could topple the defending champions after last year’s classic series.
Indiana will not even get that chance. The Pacers are going home. No championship. No Game Seven. No certainty about their future.
The Heat are moving on to their fourth straight NBA Finals, becoming just the third franchise to accomplish that feat — joining the vaunted Celtics and Lakers — and becoming the first team to reach four consecutive Finals since the Celtics from 1984-87. It is an incredible accomplishment.
To get there, the Heat completely dismantled the Pacers from start to finish. All the in-fighting and squabbling from the Pacers seemed to bubble over and those are questions they will have to answer in the offseason. Their window is dangerously close to being shut.
Miami’s window remains wide open. A chance tow in a third straight title is four wins away. So tantalizingly close.
LeBron James was his typical brilliant in Game Six with 25 points and six assists. Chris Bosh wrapped up a fantastic series with 25 points and eight rebounds. Miami shot 57.9 percent from the floor and made 11 of 26 3-pointers. The Heat were advancing and there was nothing the Pacers could do about it.
Paul George scored 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds in his team’s finale. The Pacers though just fell behind. Their opportunity to beat the Heat ended with a thud. Miami still has Indiana’s number.
