Paul George scored 21 of his game-high 37 points in the fourth quarter as Indiana Pacers took advantage of a rare foul trouble for LeBron James to beat Miami Heat 93-90 and stay alive Wednesday in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
With LeBron playing just 24 minutes and scoring a postseason career-low seven points, Indiana avoided elimination and forced a Game 6 Friday in Miami.
After Miami wiped out an 11-point deficit to tie it at 81-all with over three minutes left on a LeBron three-pointer, George scored the Pacers' next eight points, including a pair of three-pointers that gave Indiana a 91-87 lead with 46 seconds left.
Miami had one last chance to tie in the closing seconds but James drove and dished to Chris Bosh, who missed a corner 3-pointer in front of the Indiana bench with 4.9 seconds remaining. George scored more points in the second half (31) than in any of the Pacers' previous six playoff games.
After going 3-for-9 and missing all four of his 3-point attempts in the first half, George was 12-for-19 in the second, going 5-for-10 from the arc. In the fourth quarter, he shot 8-for-10, including 3-for-5 from the 3-point line.
With James playing just one minute in the second quarter, Miami was nevertheless able to dominate, outscoring Indiana 26-11 to take a 42-33 halftime lead. But when James picked up two quick fouls early in the third quarter, this time the Pacers took advantage with a 20-4 run to wipe out a 48-37 deficit and take a 57-52 lead.
Indiana then opened the fourth quarter with another burst as George hit a three-pointer in front of the Miami bench, and then came up with a steal and dunk to make it 77-66 with 8:54 left. Though Miami rallied, Indiana never relinquished the lead and hung on despite missing three of five free throws in the final 15 seconds.
George finished 15-for-28 overall, 5-for-14 from the arc.
West shot 7-for-11. Rashard Lewis shot 6-for-9 from the 3-point line for Miami. He entered the game 0-for-6 from the arc in the series and 3-for-21 in the playoffs.
Ray Allen made half of his six 3-point attempts. James shot 2-for-10 and had more turnovers (three) than field goals, finishing with a postseason career-low seven points. Roy Hibbert and Stephenson both were 4-for-11.
