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"I wish I could have got him a minute or two of rest in the fourth quarter. But because of the hole that we dug ourselves," he added, "there was no way to do it."
Miami better get used to the pace because Indiana isn't likely to change a thing. The Pacers learned in their first-round series against Orlando the best way to gum up a spread offense like the one the Heat have been forced to deploy. The Magic were without All-Star big man Dwight Howard, so Indiana played a deliberate half-court offense, parking big men Roy Hibbert and David West in the lane to clog things up on the other end and control the boards. A 50-40 edge in rebounds Tuesday night helped the Pacers overcome some not-so-nifty shooting of their own (38 percent from the floor).
"Our team has won with defense and rebounding all year. Those are the two areas that hurt us most in Game 1," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. "The transition game and rebounding they won (in Game 1). Tonight we won those two battles and helped us get over the hump.
"We understand that offense is going to come and go," he added a moment later. "Our defense has got to be our staple. Our guys competed harder tonight than they probably have in the entire season."
Speaking of that, the fine Vogel incurred before the series even began for calling the Heat the "biggest flopping team in the NBA" and suggesting the officials pay close attention to such stunts looks like money well spent. No team is less popular with rival fans than the Heat, and some of that attitude appears to have rubbed off on the Pacers.
With 9:53 left, Wade drove to the basket and expected a call when Indiana's Dahntay Jones got in his way, wrestled the ball away and set up a score for teammate Leandro Barbosa on the other end. Barely half a minute later, after another Miami turnover sprang Darren Collison for what looked like an uncontested basket, Wade barreled into Collison from behind and earned a flagrant-1 foul. It wasn't the only confrontation and it isn't likely to be the last in the series, either.
"This was an ugly game," Danny Granger said, "but we found a way to win."
[Associated Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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