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MIAMI - After serving a one-game suspension for his flagrant foul during the Heat's series against the Indiana Pacers, forward Udonis Haslem was back at work Saturday with his teammates.

Haslem was suspended for Game 6 of the Heat-Pacers series after he took down Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough during the Heat's 32-point victory in Game 5 on Tuesday in Miami. Haslem traveled with the team to Indiana for Game 6, but the suspension prevented him from attending the game.

So instead, Haslem said Saturday he spent the evening in a suite watching the game at the downtown hotel where the Heat stayed in Indianapolis. Haslem got through the game like most fans - he grabbed a sports drink and a couple of bags of chips while sitting on the sofa.

He regretted not being there for his team, but not necessarily for taking up for teammate Dwyane Wade, who was fouled hard by Hansbrough on a previous play in Game 5 and was also assessed a flagrant-1 foul that was later upgraded to a flagrant-2 penalty.

In the video above, Haslem talks about being back on the court with his teammates as they prepare for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday. He also discussed what it felt like when Wade delivered him the game ball from the Heat's series-clinching victory over the Pacers as players boarded the team flight Thursday back to Miami.

Wade said Saturday he appreciates having Haslem at his side and revealed how deep their relationship runs.

"The biggest thing, I think, for all of us is we understand how much Udonis means to all of us," Wade said. "The foul that he took, you know, in a sense, was a foul for us. Obviously, he took a hard foul and got suspended for a game. With him not playing, we told him we were going to go out there and take care of business. I respect him, what the other captain brought - that toughness for our team."

Wade hopes Haslem stores the game ball away in a nice place. The two have been teammates with the Heat since they came into the league together in 2003. They are the only current members of the team from the 2005-06 championship season.

"For me, it's like having a big brother when you're going to school," Wade said. "You know ain't nobody going to mess with you. And if they do, you'll be calling your big brother."

Because of that, Wade said he tried not to react too angrily after he was fouled by Hansbrough. Wade sensed his most loyal teammate might not take it too well. Haslem has denied that retaliation was his motivation for the foul on Hansbrough.

"I tried to do my impression of trying to calm everything after I got hit, because I know it was a very physical hit," Wade said. "And I know how certain guys respond to that, when they see a guy kind of go after you. (Haslem) had a very good view of it because he was on the baseline when it happened."

Wade attempted to calm his teammates during a brief huddle.

"I tried to act like it was all good, 'Let's just move on guys,'" Wade said of his message. "But (Haslem) is not that guy. I didn't know that (hard foul on Hasbrough) was coming. But I was hoping that it didn't, because I know how thin we were and, like I said, the second guy always gets caught. But we got our guy back and we're ready to move on."

INDIANAPOLIS -- Out of common sense and tradition, the Miami Heat must apply a moderate public face as they wait to see who their opponent will be in the Eastern Conference finals. But, to a man, there is no contest.

If the Boston Celtics are able to add another home Game 7 victory to their record books when they host the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night, the Heat will likely welcome the challenge and talk about how this is how it should be. The past champion Celtics making (probably) one final run and going against the Heat again, the fourth time LeBron James would see them in his postseason career, and No. 3 for Dwyane Wade. That certainly is what the Heat are likely preparing themselves for and perhaps even expecting when Game 1 of the conference finals arrives Monday night in Miami.

But honestly, the Heat will not be rooting for the Celtics on Saturday. It may have less poetry and glamour, but the Heat most likely would much rather see the 76ers pull the upset.

It is true that the 76ers are younger, more athletic, deeper and healthier than the Celtics at this point. But the Heat have dominated Philadelphia like no other team in the East over the past two seasons; the two teams have played 12 times, including the first round of last year’s playoffs. Eleven times the Heat have won, including sweeping this season's series 4-0.

The Heat haven’t beaten Boston since the first week of the season back in late December in their home opener. The Celtics are 3-0 against Miami since, though the last meeting was in the final week of the season and neither team played its full lineup. Boston beat the Heat twice in a two-week span in April as Rajon Rondo exploited them in both games. Even with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce limping and Avery Bradley out for the season, it’s not a comfortable matchup for the Heat.

Meanwhile, Miami used the 76ers like an elixir, beating them coming off losses all four times. The Heat held what proved to be a pivotal early-season team meeting on Philly’s own practice court. The last time the teams played, also in April, the Heat gave Wade the night off to rest ahead of a big game with Oklahoma City and won anyway.

James averaged 29.2 points against the 76ers during the regular season, his second-highest average against East playoff teams, and shot a cool 60 percent in the four games. As a team, the Heat averaged 99 points and shot 50 percent against the 76ers, winning the four games by an average of nearly 14 points.

The 76ers, meanwhile, averaged just 85.5 points against Miami this season, the fewest they averaged against any East team, and shot just 41 percent. They like to play up-tempo when they can and prefer to play small, which the Heat like to do, as well. The 76ers do not have a classic back-to-the-basket center, which is perhaps the Heat’s biggest weakness, as demonstrated at times against Roy Hibbert in the last round.

In short, Philly is a great matchup for the Heat. And they’ll be pulling for it.

INDIANAPOLIS -- On a night when the Miami Heat were all about accessorizing, not many complementary pieces could quite compare with the pink rubber-soled shoes and pink finger bandage Dwyane Wade donned with the hot-pink pants he wore to the arena Thursday.

“Those your close-out game pants, D-Wade?” Heat teammate LeBron James asked as he jokingly mocked Wade's creative wardrobe. “That's how you roll? Really?”

The short-handed Heat made far more than a fashion statement in eliminating the Pacers in six games with a 105-93 victory to advance to the Eastern Conference finals; Miami fashions itself as more than a two-man show.

While James and Wade again put up huge numbers and continued their remarkable play, the Heat also got a significant contribution from their role players for the third consecutive game in the series to run away from the Pacers.


Miami has been without All-Star Chris Bosh since Game 1 because of an abdominal strain and was missing forward Udonis Haslem due to a one-game suspension for a hard foul he committed in Game 5.

So that left more voids than usual to fill for the Heat. But long-struggling shooter Mike Miller regained his stroke Thursday and point guard Mario Chalmers put together a third straight solid performance as the two combined for 27 points to round out a balanced effort from the Heat.

For the second consecutive series, there were doubts whether the Heat's bench could neutralize the opposing team's group of reserves. After outperforming the injury-depleted Knicks bench in the first round of the playoffs, Miami benefited from some timely production by its supporting cast to overcome the supposedly deeper Pacers.

While much of the focus in the Game 6 win centered on James and Wade combining for 69 points two games after tallying 70, their teammates were far more than bystanders.

“You can't be a championship team unless you're a true team,” forward Shane Battier said. “For as much fanfare as LeBron, Dwyane and Chris get, everyone in this locker room knows we need a total team effort. So when we get those contributions, those are contributions other teams aren't counting on. And those make us tough to beat.”

The Heat don't necessarily have one role player capable of providing the 18 points and eight rebounds every night that Bosh averaged before he went down with the injury. Much like Wade's wardrobe Thursday, coach Erik Spoelstra has had to mix and match rotation players in hopes of coming up with a level of support that's productive enough.

Those contributions started coming from a variety of sources after the Heat fell into a 2-1 series hole. In Game 4, the night Wade and James torched the Pacers for 70 points, 27 rebounds and 15 assists, it was Haslem who stepped up off the bench to score eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter to help close out a 101-93 win to tie the series.

In Game 5, it was Battier's shooting in the first quarter that helped Miami set a dominant early tone on the way to a 32-point route to take a 3-2 series lead in Miami. Like Miller, Battier had been struggling with his shot for much of the season and had made just two 3-pointers through the first four games of the series. He drilled four of five Tuesday.

Miller's turn came Thursday when he made four of seven shots from 3-point range, including two during a 14-point swing in the second quarter in which the Heat rallied from a 10-point deficit to their first lead of the game.

“We've obviously got some talented guys on the bench,” Miller said. “When we came here, it's not like we forgot how to play basketball. We came here from some important roles on other teams. When we get opportunities, we've got to help, no doubt about that. There's times we've been really good at it and times we've been poor. But we just have to keep working.”

As the Heat prepare for their second trip to the conference finals in as many seasons, the key from here is to eliminate the guesswork when it comes to who's going to step up. Miami will face either Boston or Philadelphia in the next round, and it might need to rely on specific players to come through amid the uncertainty surrounding Bosh's return.

“Right now, it's still indefinite,” Spoelstra said Thursday when asked when Bosh might be cleared to play. “We said all along that we have enough. Our role players give us a lot of different things. In terms of [Chalmers] and Mike stepping up and being offensive-minded, that took a lot of pressure off our team, particularly LeBron and Dwyane.”

Much like fashion, there's value in variety.

“That's the thing about our team,” said Chalmers, who averaged 10.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game against Indiana. “Everybody don't always get to show what they can do every night. But when our numbers were called these past few games, we were ready. Somebody's got to step up. With those two guys, we just have to be ready.”

Those two guys -- James and Wade -- appreciated the boost, even though the Heat's stars have played like they haven't need much of one lately.

“Without their defensive help, without their defensive tenacity and without the things they do offensively -- they spread the floor, set the screens -- this was a total team effort,” Wade said. “They helped to guide us to this win. We just feel blessed to have the core we have and support system we have to allow us to do the things that we do.”

Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem was suspended one game by the NBA on Wednesday for his flagrant foul on Indiana forward Tyler Hansbrough midway through Game 5.

Haslem will serve the suspension when the teams meet for Game 6 on Thursday in Indiana, with the Heat holding a 3-2 series lead and looking to close out the Pacers.

Haslem was scheduled to travel with the Heat on Wednesday to Indiana, but will not be allowed to attend the game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse as part of the normal suspension terms. The league also suspended Heat reserve center Dexter Pittman for his lunging elbow that took out Pacers reserve guard Lance Stephenson in the final seconds of Tuesday's game.

Both Haslem and Pittman attended the Heat's practice on Wednesday in Miami, although Pittman was not made available to the media after the workout. Haslem, a Heat co-captain, spoke with reporters after practice but before he learned of the NBA's ruling that was announced early Wednesday evening.

Q: What did you think of the team honoring your nine stitches by handing out promotional bandages to fans in Tuesday's game?
Haslem: It was cool. I'm glad they did it. I don't like being stitched up, but it's part of the process.

Q: Do you have any thoughts on what the league might do to you? Have you been in touch with the New York office?
Haslem: Nah. Nah. Yesterday was yesterday and today is today. I came in and I'm getting prepared for the next game with my team. Like I said, I'm waiting to see. But as far as I'm concerned, I'm going to just get ready for the next game.

Q: We saw you over there talking to Pat Riley after practice. What was his message to you?
Haslem: He just told me that yesterday was yesterday and today is today. He told me to just prepare your mind for the next game.

Q: Does the attention on all the hard fouls and rough play take away from the focus that the Heat have a chance to close out this series with a win in Game 6?
Haslem: Not at all. Not at all. It's the playoffs. So there's always some kind of noise. So we'll just focus on going in there, and it's going to be the most hostile environment we've faced so far. So we'll get mentally prepared to go to war.

Q: Is this series playing right into your comfort zone with all of the physical play, momentum swings and intensity?
Haslem: I'm enjoying the competition. Everybody is competing. Everybody is playing hard. It's playoff basketball. Seeds two and three. Eastern Conference ground and pound matchup. So it's a fun series to be a part of.

Q: Danny Granger reportedly said your foul on Hansbrough was as dangerous as Metta World Peace's elbow to James Harden's head. What are your thoughts on that?
Haslem: I'm not interested in no Danny Granger, man. That's why we've got league officials to look over that stuff and make that decision. I'm sure Danny Granger is going to say what he has to say to help his team. So, whatever. It's unfortunate that he feels that way.

Q: What do you think of Larry Bird calling his own team soft?
Haslem: I don't get into that. That's his opinion of his team. He's entitled to his opinion. We've got a game to play. What they're going through over there is between then and what they have going on over there.

Q: What do you expect from the crowd in Indiana?
Haslem: It's going to be a hostile environment. It's going to be a lot of noise. Very high intensity on both sides. It's going to be a highly competitive game.

Q: The fact that they were called Flagrant-1 fouls on the court and left there, do you think the league should respect the referees' decision without any further action?
Haslem: I hope so. I hope so. There's never been a Flagrant-1 that's gone from a Flagrant-1 to a suspension.

Q: You've done the research on that?
Haslem: Yeah. Something like that. But I would hope so. Like I said, those guys (referees) were right there and they saw it. So we'll see what happens.

MIAMI – LeBron James insists he's not concerned about his safety on the court, but does vow to brace for even more hard fouls Thursday in Game 6 of what has become a brutally physical playoff series against the Indiana Pacers.

“It may have gotten to that point. For me, it's always at that point,” James said Wednesday after the Heat wrapped up practice and prepared to travel to Indiana. “I'm always in protect mode. For me, in the playoffs or the regular season, there are teams trying to go for me. It's happened. I'm not saying guys are playing dirty, but certain guys say if you hard foul LeBron, get him off balance, he'll stop being aggressive and things like that.”

After winning consecutive games to overcome an early 2-1 series deficit, the Heat are looking to close out the Pacers in Indiana and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight season. But James and his Heat teammates know they'll likely have a fight on their hands - maybe even literally, considering how rough the play has gotten in the series over the past few games.

Punishment was doled out by the league Wednesday when reserve Heat center Dexter Pittman was suspended three games for his hard foul on Pacers guard Lance Stephenson in the final seconds of Tuesday's game. Heat forward Udonis Haslem was also suspended one game (Game 6) for a flagrant foul on Indiana forward Tyler Hansbrough.

Another byproduct of this rough series is that James and Heat guard Dwyane Wade have attempted 46 and 45 free throws, respectively, through five games against Indiana. What already had been an especially physical series through the first four games turned ugly during the Heat's 115-83 victory in Game 6, which included three flagrant fouls – included the two by Haslem and Pittman that clearly seemed to have been committed in retaliation for earlier actions and antics.

James, who won his third league MVP award this season, said even the threat of suspensions might not drastically alter the rugged tone of a series that has included a total of 234 personal fouls, five conduct-driven technical fouls and four flagrant-1 penalties. James also said he's been a target for hard fouls throughout his nine-year NBA career, and doesn't think the Heat-Pacers series is any different.

Check out the video above to watch James react to the storylines entering Game 6 Thursday at Indiana.

Considering all of the hard fouls, bloody cuts and tough talk that have permeated this brutal playoff series between the Heat and Pacers, it's difficult to imagine a player from one team rooting for anything that has to do with the opposing squad.

But that's exactly where Heat guard Dwyane Wade stands entering Game 6 of this best-of-7 series. Wade said Wednesday he hopes Indiana is as close to full strength as possible when the teams head to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday night, with the Heat leading 3-2 and having a chance to close out the series.

Why? Well, because Keith Bogans is still haunting Wade after all these years. Yes, Wade still has a sore spot for Kentucky fans who suggest the Wildcats would have knocked off Marquette in the 2003 NCAA Tournament had Bogans been healthy instead of trying to play through a high ankle sprain. Wade went on to notch a triple-double against Kentucky in a performance that not only launched Marquette into the Final Four but also cemented his status as a top-five lottery pick.

So that, in a nutshell, is why Wade wants Pacers' swingman Danny Granger (sprained left ankle) and forward David West (sprained left knee) to recover as quickly as possible from injuries that knocked them out of Miami's Game 5 victory. Granger sat out of the Pacers' practice Wednesday, but West participated in the light workout. Both players are expected to play Thursday.

Wade explains the motivation behind wishing the Pacers well in the video above, and also comments on team president Larry Bird calling his own team "soft."

MIAMI -- Whatever happened to "pace-and-space"?

That's the rhyming catchphrase Heat coach Erik Spoelstra utilized to dub the high-speed, low-control offense he developed in the offseason. Inspired by a lockout visit with Oregon football coach Chip Kelly, Spoelstra implemented the fast-paced offense to leverage the athletic talents of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, and to emphasize floor spacing with sharpshooters.

The hands-off approach worked for a while. But after a blazing start to the season, the Heat haven't been running teams out of the gym; instead, they have utilized a slower, more methodical brand of basketball. Against Indiana's stifling half-court defense anchored by 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert, the pace-and-space approach could theoretically be Miami's greatest weapon and a potential game-changer in a series tied at 2-2.

So six months after its debut, is Spoelstra still emphasizing pace-and-space?

"Yeah, he’s still preaching it," Wade said at Heat's practice on Monday. "But we have to get stops."

James echoed Wade's sentiment about the importance of defense.

“That’s what it’s about," James said. "When we get stops, we have to attack. We do some of our best basketball when we get a defensive stop and we get out on a run."

A bullet is useless without a trigger. In the absence of turnovers and defensive rebounds, any team will struggle to sprint like the Heat did earlier in the season. The team opened the season as the fastest-paced team in the league over the first 10 games in the season, but over the final 10 games the Heat ranked 25th in possessions per game. Moreover, they averaged the second-most fast-break points in the opening weeks, but ranked dead last in fast-break points in the final 10 games of the regular season.

So is Duckball dead, or is it due for a rude awakening?

The playoffs certainly haven't helped. Postseason basketball typically slows down as the value of each possession becomes more important, but the Heat pressed on the gas in their Game 4 win in Indiana. The Heat doubled their fast-break points from Game 3 to Game 4 (eight points to 16) and reached triple-digit scoring after mustering just 75 points in each of the previous two games.

The key to the spike? Believing that the best offense is a good defense.

"When we defend or rebound the ball, we’ll get opportunities in the open court," Spoelstra said. "That could make a big difference in a series like this. When LeBron gets those defensive rebounds like [he did in Game 4], that’s when we’re at our fastest. He was relentless."

James tallied a season-high 18 rebounds in Game 4, using many of those to propel the Heat's open-floor attack. That's the beauty of having a top rebounder doubling as a point guard; no outlet pass is necessary to ignite a break. During Wade and James' barrage of 38 consecutive points, the Heat throttled the Pacers in chaotic spurts, thriving on transition plays and improvisation.

The "space" part of the equation had been missing too. The Heat weren't able to capitalize on floor-spacing shooters in the first three games; they shot a pathetic 12 percent on 3-pointers in the series before Sunday. But shooting 41.7 percent from downtown in Game 4 helped to free up the driving lanes for James and Wade. The Heat can't get what they want unless Shane Battier and Mike Miller fulfill their floor-spacing duties.

But perhaps most importantly, the pace-and-space attack neutralizes the lumbering Hibbert as a paint protector.

"They obviously have a big guy that sits in the middle a lot," Wade said. "Hibbert is very good defensively, especially protecting the rim, so we have to do a better job of getting points in the paint in transition, not just in the half court. We have to get him in the move a little bit so he’s not just sitting, waiting for us to come down into the paint."

Attacking Hibbert on the move also achieves the Heat's second priority: getting the Pacers' big man in foul trouble. It's no coincidence that the Heat outscored the Pacers by a decisive eight points with Hibbert sitting on the bench with foul trouble. He and David West finished with five fouls apiece.

But it's not as simple as flipping the switch and suddenly deciding to play high-octane basketball. Playing at that speed is exhausting, too, especially after a lockout-shortened season. At Monday's practice, James was asked whether he had any energy after his monster Game 4, and he responded with an exasperated grin.

"Don't have any," James said on Monday. "It’s definitely going to be a recovery and mental day for me to prepare for [Tuesday].”

That's the obvious downside, of course. Throughout the season, this was the overarching question with the Heat: Will they have enough energy in the postseason to play the same kind of pace-and-space brand of basketball that they beat teams with early on?

Wade wasn't so sure.

"Obviously, it’s different now than the regular season," Wade said. "Possessions matter a lot more now. There might be sometimes where they might miss and you might not run. Early on in the regular season, we were just going. It was just ‘pace-and-space’ and we were attacking.

"But that was a long time ago. We’ve got a lot of miles on our legs now from that."

James wouldn't say that fatigue was going to slow the Heat down, but it might make it harder to assert their athleticism.

“Fatigue is part of the playoffs," James said. "I’m just trying to catch my second and third wind out there. You have to just push through it.”

It's no secret that the Heat will look to run at every opportunity, and Pacers coach Frank Vogel has stressed the importance of keeping the fast-break triggers to a minimum. Since Chris Bosh is sidelined with an abdominal strain, the Heat might have no choice but to go all-in on James and Wade's athleticism, and swarm the Pacers as Miami did earlier in the regular season.

“It's that attack mentality," Spoelstra said. "We’re trying to figure ourselves out on the fly with Bosh out. It’s changed the dynamic of the team.”

With the series in the balance ahead of Game 5, channeling an excellent pace-and-space effort might be the dynamic the Heat need to tilt the series in their favor.

“They know what they need and we know what we need," Wade said. "Two sides collide and we’ll see who comes out.”

MIAMI -- Coming off a win in Indiana in Game 4 to tie the series, the Heat were in a good mood at practice on Monday.

With topics ranging from LeBron James' reading material to James and Dwyane Wade's big 70-point night to the Lance Stephenson-Juwan Howard confrontation to Udonis Haslem's bloody eye to James Jones' valiant dunk attempt over the Pacers defense ... it's time to go bullets-style.

• On LeBron and Wade's historic night
  
  James and Wade found out about their 38 consecutive points after the game and didn't hear about the historical precedence of James' 40-18-9 performance until they got on the plane.
  
  When asked whether James took some extra time to take in the historical aspect of his Game 4, James just shook his head.
  
  "No, not really," James said.
  
  Wade later elaborated.
  
  “Last night when we heard about [the statistical feat], we were like, ‘Wow,' and then we moved on," Wade said. "We don’t have time to pat ourselves on the back with our opponent [on Tuesday]."
  
  Wade was mired in an awful shooting slump before reeling off eleven straight buckets on Sunday. It's hard to explain a turnaround like that, but Wade gave it his best shot.
  
  “Obviously, the rim gets bigger and bigger," Wade said. "It’s something that’s indescribable. It’s something you really want to understand because at times the rim seems so small, it looks like a Cheerio. You can’t get the ball in it at all. And then other times it opens up like the ocean.”
  
  Wade wasn't done making analogies. He likened LeBron's night to a video-game NBA 2K. And then to Dirk Nowitzki.
  
  "It was video-game-like. You’d get that on [the video game NBA] 2K," Wade said.
  
  "I was watching the game last night on the plane and I turned to Ronny Turiaf who was sitting behind me and I said, ‘You know what, I’ve played in the league for nine years and I’ve seen some amazing things, but I’ve never really played with a guy that I’m amazed so often by the things he does. I’m used to kind of not being the one who is in awe of things. Sometimes he does things and I’m like, ‘How did just he do that?’"
  
  Wade went on.
  
  “I think there was one shot he made in the game, it was kinda like the Dirk shot where he went and drove and fired and faded back off the wrong leg and banked it in. I looked back at Shane Battier and I was like, ‘What? How did he do that?’ I’ve seen a lot, but the performance he put on last night was a typical MVP kind of performance.”
• On LeBron reading "The Hunger Games"
  
  Full disclosure: I haven’t read “The Hunger Games” yet. Having not read the book, I couldn't get into detail with LeBron about his latest read by Suzanne Collins that is out in theaters. LeBron has been a bit of a bookworm throughout the playoffs, having just finished up basketball legend Jerry West’s autobiography titled “West by West.”
  
  You might have noticed he certainly isn’t shy about his reading hobby around the media and cameras either.
  
  “I’ve been doing it since the playoffs started,” LeBron said Monday. “It just puts me in a different mindset. Honestly, before the game I don’t even think about what’s going to happen throughout the game. I’ve just been reading and it’s been able to calm me down. It’s been great.”
  
  His early review of "The Hunger Games"?
  
  “It’s good, it’s really good,” LeBron said. “I just started reading it.”
• On James Jones' dunk attempt
  
  If you're like me, you watched James Jones' dunk attempt at least 30 times. If not, here's footage in GIF form brought to you by the folks at SB Nation.
  
  The team watched the play on the plane ride back from Indiana last night and the team got a good laugh. When asked about it at practice, Wade squealed with laughter.
  
  “That was by far the funniest thing that happened all year," Wade said. "It showed a great deal of aggression and toughness … but he wasn’t even close. That was the funniest moment on the plane when he watched it on tape.”
  
  Jones got a good laugh out of it, too. He also thought he might have gotten fouled.
  
  “I saw the lane get open, so I tried to attack it. I was hoping the referee would make the right call," Jones said.
  
  "Since I’ve been here, I’ve been predominantly a spot-up shooter, but I saw an opportunity to attack the lane, it didn’t go as I had planned, but it’s just me trying to be aggressive. In the grand scheme of things, it was something that gave some comic relief knowing we had to come in here today and prepare for a tough Game 5.”
  
  And then Jones got serious for a moment talking about trying to prove his talents to his fellow teammates.
  
  “You try as much as possible to remind yourself and your teammates that you’re still a player and that you can do certain things even if it’s not what the team calls for you to do on a nightly basis.”
• On the Lance Stephenson-Juwan Howard scuffle
  
  Wade insists he had no idea about Juwan Howard approaching Lance Stephenson during the pregame warmups until after the game (watch and read about it here).
  
  Howard and Wade grew up in the Chicago area so Wade felt some hometown pride when he found out that Howard, who hasn't played more than a few seconds in the playoffs, stuck up for the team like that.
  
  "That’s Juwan Howard from Chicago," Wade said. "He’s invested in everything that goes on with this team."
  
  And then Wade might have gotten a little carried away, even dabbling in the third person.
  
  "Juwan as big of a part of this team as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade is," Wade said. "His voice and his leadership around here means a lot to us. He understands that and he really gets it this year. If it takes something like that, hey. I didn’t know he did it until after the game and I said, 'That’s hilarious. That’s my boy from Chicago.'"
• On Udonis Haslem's cut above his eye
  
  LeBron put up a historic line on Sunday, but in his effort to be humble about the whole thing, he sent Haslem some praise.
  
  "He's the biggest part of how we won last night," LeBron said. "Even with the individual performance of myself and D-Wade, I think UD got the game ball."
  
  About the gash above his right eye from Lou Amundson's inadvertent elbow?
  
  Oddly enough, Wade enjoyed that.
  
  “Yeah, I liked it because I know certain people when they see their own blood, they get a little crazy," Wade said. "I actually liked it when I saw the blood dripping down.”
  
  How does Haslem look now after the nine stitches? Here's a photo I snapped.
  
  
  ESPN.com

Not bad for nine stitches.

I guess.

LeBron James' 40 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists in Game 4 hadn't been done in a playoff game in over a half-century, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

But was it even James' best playoff game of his career?

Believe it or not, it might not have been.

At least statistically.

Considering the context of the series and the Heat's desperation with Chris Bosh sidelined, James' outing might be more impressive than his box score implies. But strictly looking at his numbers, how does his Sunday performance stack up?

Using a box score metric devised by our own John Hollinger called Game Score, James' Game 4 was just the seventh-best of his career.

Yes, seventh.

Here are James' top performances in the playoffs.



It's human nature to hail the latest achievement as the greatest achievement, but according to this measure, James' performance on Sunday wasn't even a top-5 outing. It ranked seventh by Game Score, which you can think of as a one-game player efficiency rating (PER).

Why wasn't a 40-18-9 outing ranked higher on the list?

For one, it's a testament to James' career. James receives a strong dose of criticism for his playoff duds, and after his Finals performance last season, much of it is warranted. But James has put up some mind-numbing games over his career.

If we're nitpicking, he tallied five turnovers Sunday and never made a 3-pointer. Granted, he didn't miss a 3-pointer, either, but the 3-pointers help efficiency in a big way. If you personally feel that rebounds are extra valuable, you might regard James' Sunday performance as his best. Feels silly to find flaws in a nearly spotless game like that.

Our own Brian Windhorst, who has covered James' entire career, believes that James' Sunday outing ranks as his best playoff performance since Game 5 against Orlando in 2009, when James put up 37 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists. Game Score called it James' 10th-best performance.

More than anything, that James' game might not have been his statistical best speaks to an up-and-down playoff career that has the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.

All in all, LeBron's outing was just about as good as it gets.

(Data provided by Basketball-Reference.com)

Udonis Haslem had a tough week.

In Game 1 against Indiana last Sunday, Haslem missed all four shots from the floor. In Game 2, he saw his playing time cut in half during a home loss. In Game 3, he was demoted to the reserve role for a rookie -- a rookie who had never played a playoff game, no less -- and played a season-low seven minutes in another loss.

Things were spiraling away from the Heat's co-captain. Perhaps the most prideful and dignified player on the roster, Haslem was forced to watch his team get demoralized in the series from the bench. He could do little but offer high-fives and encouragement, even though his team was getting crushed and pushed around on the floor. In just a week, Haslem was reduced from a crucial starter to a detached observer.

In an ideal world, Haslem was supposed to be the team's replacement for Chris Bosh after the All-Star strained an abdominal muscle in Game 1. But Haslem had been mired in the worst shooting slump of his career and wasn't effective in guarding Roy Hibbert, a center who stood about half a foot taller. With LeBron James shifting to the power forward slot, Haslem was the odd man out. It was a tough week, to be sure.

But on Sunday, however, Haslem got his groove back.

It started with a put-back dunk early in the second quarter, as Haslem rose up out of nowhere and slammed Dwyane Wade's miss with one hand. It was a stunning play from Haslem, considering it looked his shoes had been filled with cement over the last couple of weeks.

Then in the fourth quarter, it all came together for Haslem. And in doing so, it temporarily welded the Heat's Big Three again. With jumper after jumper, Haslem rediscovered his mid-range game that has made him so valuable as a floor-spacing big man over his career. Haslem scored 14 points in Game 4, the first time a Heat big man scored more than 10 points since Bosh went down.

What caused the change?

A little encouragement from James and Wade, Haslem told reporters in Indianapolis after the game.

"D-Wade and LeBron told me to just play my game," Haslem said. "Pick and pop.”

Ah, the pick-and-pop. For those who don't fall into the basketball junkie category, the pick-and-pop might be a foreign term. The "pop" refers to the big man who "pops" out to the mid-range area after setting a screen on the ball. Instead of rolling to the rim, the big man stays back for a jumper to clear the paint. For the 6-8 Haslem, rolling toward the 7-2 Hibbert and 6-10 David West wasn't a bankable strategy.

"I did some things out there that I was used to doing," Haslem said. "The pick-and-pop has really been my game the majority of my career, so instead of rolling to basket into those trees down there I just flared back. I’m more comfortable doing that than anything."

It's true Haslem stayed away from the basket area where he's getting blocked twice as often as his normal career rate. With the Heat up by five points heading into the final minutes of the fourth quarter, Wade and Haslem started running their pick-and-pop game. Wearing a bandage on a cut over his eye that required nine stitches after the game, Haslem found pockets in the Pacers defense and waited for the pass from his driving teammates.

The barrage started with a short jumper on the right baseline with just under six minutes left. Then another pop on the right side when the Pacers put two on Wade. Drilled it. And then another at the top of the key. Hit it again. And then the dagger with 1:12 left in the fourth quarter; he drained a jumper from the left elbow after Hibbert sunk into the paint to put the Heat up by seven.

For a five-minute stretch in the fourth quarter, Haslem matched the Pacers point-for-point, each tallying eight points down the stretch. Without Haslem's timely shot-making, the Heat might not have pulled away as they comfortably as they did.

This was vintage Haslem. The pick-and-pop game had vanished from his repertoire recently, and the Heat sorely missed that paint decongestant with Bosh sidelined. The Heat's offense sings when Bosh pulls opposing big men out of the key to cover jump shots (Hibbert or West, in the case of the Pacers). A pick-and-pop shooter becomes vital in opening up the lane for Wade and James to penetrate, but that had been stopped up recently.

Haslem, who had shot a measly 3-for-12 on jumpers in the playoffs heading into Sunday's game, wasn't a threat anymore. But now, he might be. If he can keep shooting that way in Game 5, the Heat should be able to get what they want offensively. So much of the Heat's offense requires an able pick-and-roll partner that draws the defense away from James and Wade.

To think Haslem's jump shot is suddenly cured might be a bit optimistic; it's just one game, after all. But for one game, the Heat found a replacement for Bosh as a member of the Heat's vaunted trio. By balancing the floor for James and Wade to thrive in the paint and grabbing rebounds, Haslem could be the most important player for the Heat going forward outside of the Big Two.

If Haslem can maintain his breakthrough scoring performance from Game 4 into Game 5 on Tuesday, the Heat may have found the pressure release they so desperately needed after Bosh went down.

"I just got back to my comfort zone," Haslem said. "Pickin' and poppin'."

In another installment of the Heat Index's 3-on-3 series, our writers give their takes on the storylines before the Heat visit the Pacers in Game 4 of the East semifinals (ABC, 3:30 ET).

1. Fact or Fiction: LeBron is right, Game 4 is a must-win for the Heat.

Tom Haberstroh: Fiction. The "must-win" meme is the worst thing to happen in sports analysis since the basketball adaptation of the "closer" term. That may be a bit strong, but our casual acceptance that a non-elimination game is a "must-win" has gotten a bit out of control. If the Heat lose Sunday, they still have potentially two games remaining at home. This isn't do-or-die. Yet.

Michael Wallace: Fiction. I know the point LeBron was trying to make, but I think in a literal fashion, when it comes to this situation, it's not true. Elimination games are must-win games. Neither team's season would end based on the outcome of Game 4. I actually believe this game is bigger for the Pacers' psyche. The Heat can't go in thinking this series is over if they don't win Sunday. Even if they're down 3-1, there's still a game in Miami on Tuesday. Which means there's still a chance to start a rally.

Brian Windhorst: Fact. I think it is rather obvious that getting down 3-1 without Chris Bosh and with the Pacers getting more confident by the minute is not a recipe for victory. The difference between 3-1 and 2-2 obviously is vast, especially because it would give the Heat back the home-court advantage. The Heat players have a lot on the line here: reputations and futures and legacies. Way more than the Pacers.

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2. Fact or Fiction: D-Wade came off worse than Spoelstra in Game 3.

Haberstroh: Fact. And that's a remarkable achievement by Wade considering that Heat fans were calling for Spoelstra's pink slip after the Pacers went up 7-0 during the Dexter Pittman Experiment of Game 3. And then sprinkle in the fact that Spoelstra had a heated argument with the team's most beloved star. And still, there's no question that Wade came off worse in Game 3. That's how awful Wade was in Thursday's game.

Wallace: Fact. I asked Dwyane on Saturday if he felt he made a mistake by showing his frustrations in such a public fashion during that timeout blowup with Spoelstra. He said it was just the byproduct of a heated discussion during an intense time in the game. At the end of the day, I truly believe Dwyane was much madder with himself than anyone on that Heat bench. His body just wasn't cooperating. He lashed out. He looked bad doing it. Everyone insists it's behind them now.

Windhorst: Fact. Spoelstra's Dexter Pittman experience and revolving door of subs was not exactly awe-inspiring. But Wade came off as petulant because of the way he was playing, especially his hard-to-explain effort level. Combined with his inexcusable flagrant foul in Game 2, Wade's attitude so far in this series has been has been poor. Including snapping at his coach at a crucial part of the game.

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3. Fact or Fiction: The Heat should still be favored in this series.

Haberstroh: Fiction. In light of the Wade injury stuff, I've moved from toss-up to slight nod to the Pacers. I still think the Heat have a good chance of turning this around and beating the Pacers, but I don't find it to be a likely scenario anymore. Not with Bosh out. Not with Wade playing on one leg. I don't think this is an X's-and-O's problem as much as it is a physical one. Does Wade still have the burst in his step to be himself? I'm not sure. If he doesn't, it becomes a 1.5-on-8 ordeal.

Wallace: Fiction. Call me crazy, but I consider it a 50-50 series right now. Yes, the Pacers have a 2-1 series lead. But I've seen the Heat rally from a 2-0 deficit in the Finals to beat Dallas in 2006. And I've seen Miami hold a 2-1 series lead over the Mavs last season in the Finals and squander it. I've always said the Heat seem to respond to adversity far better than prosperity. But without Chris Bosh available and with Wade ailing a bit, nothing less than their A-game will beat Indy.

Windhorst: Fact. If they split in Indiana, which is still possible, then they will have done exactly what was expected of them and they will have control of the series. Because this is still within reach, they are not yet desperate. They lose Game 4, of course, then they become a heavy underdog. In short, it's a big game.

INDIANAPOLIS – Frank Vogel calls them his Vince Lombardi moments.

It's those times when the Indiana Pacers' coach claims to deliver just the right motivational message and make the most effective adjustments before he sends his team out after halftime in the perfect frame against the Miami Heat.

“I'm a genius,” Vogel sarcastically quipped. “That simple.”

How the Pacers have taken a surprising 2-1 series lead against the Heat entering Game 4 Sunday might be a bit more complicated to explain than what Vogel has let on.

But not by much.

Among the adjustments Miami hopes to make is to buck a recent trend in which the Pacers have dominated the third quarter in each of the past two games to take control of this series. For whatever reason, the Heat have been a bit sluggish coming out of the locker room after halftime. And as a result, they've been slammed to start the second half.

The Pacers have outscored the Heat 54-26 in the third quarters of the past two games, which includes holding Miami to just 12 points in the period in Game 3 on the way to a 94-75 victory on Thursday to pull ahead in the series.

Miami has shot just 31.5 percent in what has proved to be the decisive period in its matchup with Indiana. The Heat haven't fared much better overall, and are shooting only 37.6 percent through three entire games.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra admitted after Saturday's practice that his team's third quarter production – or lack thereof – has been a longstanding problem that also affected the team during the first-round series against New York. Even last season, the Heat's inconsistency in making halftime adjustments – or responding to them – was a source of criticism all the way through the loss in the Finals to Dallas after squandering a 2-1 series lead.

“That's somewhere we have to be much better at,” Spoelstra said entering Sunday's game. “That's not exclusive to this series. We had a little bit of a problem with that against New York and in the regular season. Our guys understand that we have to come out with a different mentality and force in that third quarter. No question.”

Miami typically has done its most effective work defensively in the second and fourth quarter this season, with their opponents shooting higher percentages from the field in the first and third quarters – right after coming out of the locker room. Vogel said he's noticed the trend, but hasn't had to make many adjustments to capitalize because the third has always been a breakout period for Indiana.

“Our starters have played well against just about everybody all year,” Vogel said of the Pacers, who averaged 25.1 points a game in the third this season, their most of any quarter. “That unit has played at a level the Pacers haven't seen in quite some time. When they come out strong in the third quarter, we ride them a little longer than usual. And that's what led to these third quarter leads.”

The Pacers insist they take full advantage of the opportunity to regroup during the extended break between the first and second halves. It represents a fresh start.

“It's just part of the game we feel we can come out and execute because the information is still fresh in our heads,” forward David West said. “So we try to put a lot of emphasis on that point of the game. But it's more than just five guys, the starters. The bench guys come in and up the pace, up the edge and continue to pressure the other team.”

Several factors have affected the Heat's immediate performance after halftime in this series. In Game 1, Miami was forced into a major adjustment when starter Chris Bosh left the game in the second quarter with an abdominal strain that is expected to sideline him for the rest of the series.

Ironically, the Heat won the third quarter of that game and outscored the Pacers 53-38 overall in the second half. In Game 2, Miami missed 14 of 17 shots in the third and were outscored by 14 points en route to a 78-75 win for the Pacers in Miami. In Thursday's loss, Spoelstra switched his starting lineup in the third and inserted Ronny Turiaf at center after Dexter Pittman had a horrible three-minute stint to open the game.

While the Heat have been searching for answers after the half, the Pacers have been all about stability.

“I think we've done a good job of making adjustments, picking spots where we can attack and (identifying) where we're being attacked,” Pacers forward Danny Granger said. “That third quarter … It's been pivotal for us.”

INDIANAPOLIS – Dwyane Wade can’t get his age-25 explosion back, he can’t magically heal Chris Bosh’s abdominal muscle and he can’t take back the angry words he said to his coach on national television. But there are things that Wade and Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra can do to attempt to change the tide in their series with the Indiana Pacers.

Spoelstra goes to extreme and sometimes paranoid lengths to conceal his true thoughts and strategy. The team’s various non-answers about Wade’s health are just a recent example. But one thing that did come through in their preparation for Sunday’s Game 4 is some planned changes for the struggling and perhaps hurting Wade.

Without Bosh as a pick-and-roll partner in addition to giving up 7 inches to primary defender Paul George, Wade’s had trouble getting to the basket in this series. It’s forced him to rely more on jumpers than his preferred attacks. And his jump shot, whether it’s a slump or because his lift is being affected by some leg issues, has been in a deep freeze.

Spoelstra, seeing these realities, apparently intends to make some adjustments to try to find Wade some relief.

“Big part of that is my responsibility to make sure he get to place where he’s comfortable and confident and where he can be aggressive,” Spoelstra said. “That’s where we’ve been focusing our energies the last couple of days. I anticipate we’ll do a better job of it this game.”

Just what wrinkles Spoelstra has in mind and whether it might make a difference is to be determined. But this bit of in-between-game coaching is some of the most vital coaching Spoelstra has had to execute all year.

His moves so far in the series have come off as erratic, including a bizarre first quarter in Game 3, when he started a player who hadn’t been seen for weeks, Dexter Pittman. Then he shuffled in no less than 11 different players in the game’s first 12 minutes like it was some sort of preseason scrimmage.

Already dealing with a fragile offense, the Heat’s rhythm has been obliterated over the last two games. After averaging 98 points a game in the regular season and 96 in the first round against the New York Knicks, the Heat haven’t cracked 75 points since Bosh’s injury. In an effort to find a mixture that works in light of Bosh's absence, Spoelstra's decisions have been all over the place.

Udonis Haslem, one of the steadiest players on the team, has seen his playing time slashed and his mood darken noticeably on the bench and in the locker room. Rookie Norris Cole has gone from in the rotation to deep on the bench to one of the first subs in. Shane Battier went from backup wing to starting power forward. And then there’s Pittman, whose three minutes in Game 3 could kindly be called unsuccessful. Spoelstra must’ve agreed because Pittman never saw the floor again.

The whole thing resembled an out-of-control garden hose. Not exactly the feeling you want in a pivotal playoff game.

“When you have injuries, especially to key guys, roles change,” Battier said. “You just have to roll with it.”

With all that going on, figuring out how to ease Wade’s struggles -- he shot 10-of-35 over the past two games and has just 12 free throw attempts after he got 14 in Game 1 alone -- is Spoelstra’s greatest challenge.

If Spoelstra can tweak his game plan and find a way to re-engage his second-leading scorer, it could help turn the series around. And perhaps restore some confidence after a coaching performance that so far could be termed as shaky.

It is possible the Heat could look to post Wade up more often, a mainstay of his game during the season that has disappeared over the past several games. Spoelstra may attempt to free up Wade away from the ball so he doesn’t have to beat his man plus a secondary defender, most often the free-roaming Roy Hibbert, to get to the rim. It’s possible Spoelstra could go to Wade pick-and-rolls with LeBron James, which might force the Pacers to change the passive style they’ve enjoyed without having to worry about Bosh setting those usually valuable screens.

What is known is that Spoelstra had a meeting with Wade on Friday at the team hotel before Wade drove to see his old college coach, Tom Crean, at Indiana University. Then the Heat had a long film session on Saturday before going over new strategy for Game 4.

When it was over, Wade was downplaying health concerns and making references to how a game plan change may be beneficial.

“A lot of [the struggles] is not your lift or your explosion, sometimes it’s the game plan,” Wade said. “I’m sure tomorrow will be a different game than any other game in the series from how and where my attacks come.”

Wade, Spoelstra and the rest of the Heat hope it’s sure. They have not had any answers to the Pacers’ defense since Game 1. It may not be as simple as changing the strategy, if Wade is limited by an injury, there is only so much than can be done against an Indiana team that has been thoroughly enjoying itself on defense.

But Spoelstra seems ready to try something new, again. He’s running out of chances to find something that works.

“We have to vary our menu,” Spoelstra said. “We have to use everything we have.”

INDIANAPOLIS - It was a tale of two performances that defined the Indiana Pacers' blowout victory in Game 3 against the Miami Heat.

Pacers center Roy Hibbert had a formidable game while Heat guard Dwyane Wade's performance was flat-out forgettable. As expected, Indiana spent Saturday's practice bracing for what it expects to be a huge bounce-back effort from Wade, who went scoreless in the first half for the first time in 95 career playoff games and finished with just five points and five turnovers.

Meanwhile, the Heat worked Saturday to ensure that Hibbert won't duplicate the kind of impact that led to his career outing with 19 points, 18 rebounds and five blocked shots in Thursday's 94-75 win to take a 2-1 series lead.

"We're going off the mindset ... that D-Wade isn't going to have the kind of night he had in Game 3," Hibbert said after the Pacers' practice Saturday in preparation for Sunday's game. "So we're preparing for him to have a good night, and we'll have to go out there and execute."

Wade missed 11 of his 13 shot attempts and struggled to get into the lane against Indiana's speed and length. Wade also has been dealing with nagging knee and lower-leg injuries that required extensive treatment in recent days.

But with two days off before Game 4, the Pacers expect a more explosive display from Wade. Hibbert insists Indiana will be ready for the challenge, as well as the chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead before the series shifts back to Miami.

"We have some schemes to put him in situations to get the ball out of his hands, and make sure he works on the defensive end," Hibbert said. "I'm not really worried about scoring. I'm really worried about stopping LeBron (James) and D-Wade from getting into the paint."

As for his own game, Hibbert said he can't guarantee another massive double-double like he had in Game 3. But he did vow to focus on two areas.

"I'll tell you one thing: I'm going to rebound and defend," Hibbert said. "Whatever happens after that, happens."