NBA Playoffs – Eastern Conference Finals
Game 2 - Indiana leads series 1-0
Tip-off: Tuesday, 8:35 p.m. ET
Line: Miami -2.5, Total: 184

The Heat look to even up the Eastern Conference Finals in Tuesday's Game 2 to a Pacers team that had complete control of the series opener right from the opening tip.

Indiana got off to an early start on Sunday, led by double-digits at halftime and never looked back in a 107-96 victory as a 1.5-point underdog in the contest. Although Miami made a strong 51% FG in the loss, the club hit just 26% threes (6-of-23) and 67% FT (10-of-15), which was much worse than the 52% FG, 42% threes (8-of-19) and 78% FT (29-of-37) from its opponent. The Pacers also dominated the glass with a 38-29 rebounding advantage, while holding the Heat to only four offensive boards. With Sunday's outcome, Indiana is now 9-4 SU and 8-5 ATS over the past three seasons when hosting Miami. Overall during this timeframe, the Heat hold a 14-11 SU advantage, while the Pacers are 13-12 ATS in those contests. These teams are very evenly matched and play each other extremely tough nearly every time they step on the floor. Both teams have positive betting trends for Game 2, as over the past two seasons, Miami is 16-5 ATS (76%) in road games after pulling down five or less offensive rebounds, and is also 26-11 ATS (70%) revenging a same-season loss. However, Indiana is up against a team that is 9-18 ATS (33%) after two or more consecutive overs this season. The Pacers also happen to be 7-1 ATS over the past three seasons after two straight games where they made at least 50% of their shots. The only significant injury for either team is Indiana reserve SG Evan Turner, who missed Game 1 with strep throat, but he is expected to play on Tuesday.

The Heat have not been a great road team this season at 25-21 SU (22-22-2 ATS), and although they seemed unfazed by losing home-court advantage during the regular season, the result of Game 1 will surely have them panicking at least a little. Miami came out and looked rather flat from the start, never having control of the game. Outside of SF LeBron James (29.5 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.8 SPG in playoffs) and SG Dwyane Wade (18.8 PPG, 4.0 APG, 3.3 RPG, 1.2 SPG in playoffs), the Heat got very little help from their remaining starters. Both stars had nearly identical offensive games with James scoring 25 points on 11-of-18 FG and Wade pouring in a game-high 27 points on 12-of-18 FG, but finished with game ratings of minus-13 and minus-9, respectively. James was at his best when he was attacking the rim, but the Pacers did a good job of collapsing and forcing the other Heat members to beat them. James will need to be more aggressive and might have to force the agenda just to get himself some more shot attempts in Game 2. Wade scored a lot of his points in garbage time, but he did look solid offensively. He had trouble on the other side of the ball with his matchup with Lance Stephenson. Miami will have little to no chance if PF Chris Bosh (14.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.4 BPG in playoffs) is not giving them anything offensively. Bosh was miserable all Game 1, finishing with just nine points (4-of-12 FG, 0-of-5 threes), two rebounds and a game-worst rating of minus-16. Miami can’t afford to have its only true big man struggling to rebound like Bosh did, and he also is going to need to knock down his open jumpers. PF Chris Andersen (6.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.4 BPG in playoffs) played some excellent minutes on Sunday, finishing with 14 points (6-of-7 FG), four rebounds and two blocks in 19 minutes. Andersen gave the Heat everything that Bosh didn’t on the defensive end and the glass. He will need to continue to bring some energy to Miami if they are going to tie up this series. SG Ray Allen (9.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG in playoffs) also contributed big minutes off the bench with 12 points, five boards and four assists, which helped make up for the horrible game that starting PG Mario Chalmers (9.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG in playoffs) had in Game 1. In 37 underwhelming minutes, Chalmers scored just six points (2-of-9 FG, 1-of-4 threes) with four fouls and a minus-15 rating. He did run the offense effectively though with five assists and zero turnovers.

The Pacers have waited all season to play the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, and in Game 1 they looked like a team that is ready to reach the NBA Finals with all five starters scoring at least 15 points and posting a double-digit rating. Now they must bring the same focus to Game 2 to maintain home-court advantage. SG Lance Stephenson (13.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 4.1 APG in playoffs) really set the pace for Indiana on Sunday, finishing with 17 points (8-of-12 FG), eight assists and four rebounds in 41 minutes. Stephenson was on fire shooting the ball and he also played excellent defensively. SF Paul George (22.1 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 4.0 APG, 2.2 SPG in playoffs) was also superb on both ends of the floor for the Pacers. George finished with 24 points (7-of-13 FG, 3-of-6 threes), seven assists and four rebounds while also playing some pesky defense against LeBron James. C Roy Hibbert (9.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.6 BPG in playoffs) looked more like the guy that was an All-Star in the Eastern Conference than the player who was a liability on the court towards the end of the season. The big man finished with 19 points (5-of-13 FG, 9-of-13 FT), nine rebounds, three assists and a game-best +19 rating in 39 minutes of play. If Hibbert can continue to give the Pacers a source of low-post scoring, Miami will struggle in the series as it does not have the size to stop Indiana inside. PF David West (14.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.3 APG in playoffs) has been playing out of his mind the past two games for Indiana. After scoring 29 points in the closeout win over the Wizards, West had 19 points (8-of-11 FG), seven rebounds and three assists in Game 1 against the Heat. West has been shooting very well from mid-range and scoring rather easily in the post due to the Heat’s lack of size. If West can continue scoring like he has, the Pacers could be advancing to the NBA Finals.