It was only pretty for a six-minute stretch in the third quarter, but the Indiana Pacers defeated the Miami Heat 93-90 on Wednesday night to avoid elimination and push the Eastern Conference Finals to a sixth game. 

Paul George came up huge when his team needed him most. George stole the ball and streaked down the court for a dunk to give the Pacers a 77-66 advantage with 8:53 left in the fourth quarter. Erik Spoelstra called a timeout and the Heat responded with a 9-0 run capped by a Dwyane Wade layup a little more than two minutes after the George slam.

The final 6:39 represented the most entertaining back-and-forth we’ve seen in the series.

LeBron James, who had a playoff-low seven points in less than 25 minutes because of foul trouble, still managed to make two huge plays with the game on the line. He hit a three at the 3:51 mark to tie the game at 81 apiece, but Miami was never able to reclaim the lead.

That was because of George’s brilliance in the final period.

He scored 21 points while playing a full 12 minutes, evoking memories of Reggie Miller’s 25-point fourth quarter against the New York Knicks in, you guessed it, Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals back in 1994.

George went 8-for-10 from the field with a trio of threes and three important steals. He outplayed LeBron, who failed to get in a rhythm because he spent as much time on the bench as in the game. James was 1-for-5 with five points in the final period.

As well as George played, the Heat had several chances to win the game and close out the series. Chris Bosh hit a three with 76 seconds left to cut Indiana’s lead to just one point, but George answered with a three of his own. Up 91-87, it looked like the Pacers had the game won when George Hill drove into the paint for a fast break layup with fewer than 25 seconds left, but LeBron kept Miami alive with a chase-down block (the second of his huge plays). Bosh corralled the deflection and Rashard Lewis hit a three to bring the lead back down to one with 16 seconds left.

That’s when the thriller turned bizarre. Shane Battier forced George to make a tough catch on an inbounds pass that was dangerously close to the sideline. It was deflected out of bounds and ruled off Battier. The officials confirmed it after some deliberation -- replays from one angle made it look as though the call was correct, while another angle seemed to indicate it may have been off George.

Indiana was awarded possession and Battier tried to pull a veteran move while denying George the ball. He pulled George to the ground with him, but the officials saw the grab and it came before Luis Scola inbounded the ball. George was awarded one foul shot and the Pacers retained possession. George missed the foul shot and David West went 1-for-2 at the line as the Heat were forced to foul. What could have been a 94-90 lead with 13.6 seconds left was just 92-90.

George was inserted back on LeBron defensively for the final play, which resulted in a missed corner three by Bosh. Roy Hibbert grabbed the rebound and found West for a shuffle pass that effectively ended the game.

The Heat won the final quarter 33-29, but the run the Pacers made to close the third turned out to be the difference.

When Lewis hit a three at the 8:02 mark of the third to give Miami a 48-37 lead, the Pacers seemed headed for a fishing boat instead of back to American Airlines Arena for Game 6. Instead of rolling over, which would have been predictable, Indiana ripped off a 20-4 run that gave them a 57-52 edge less than six minutes later.

After scoring just 11 points in the second period, the Pacers finished the third by scoring on fourteen of their last eighteen possessions. The game-changing run was keyed by Lance Stephenson, who drew LeBron’s fifth foul after a steal at the 8:34 mark of the third. With LeBron on the bench for the remainder of the quarter, Indiana outscored Miami 27-12.

George Brings The Energy

The Pacers displayed much better energy and urgency than we’ve seen from them since they held a significant lead in the first half of Game 3 on Saturday night. They can thank Paul George, who may have exploded in the fourth, but had a nice level of energy from the start.

George played 45:04 in the must-win game, finishing with 37 points, six rebounds, six steals, two assists and three turnovers. He shot 15-for-28 from the field and 5-for-14 from three, which means he missed only four of his fourteen two-point attempts.

He was able to dominate the final period because he had fresh legs. LeBron’s foul trouble meant George had much less of a defensive responsibility. James may have been even fresher than George late, but George was already in the rhythm of the game.

Overcoming A Poor Second Quarter

Indiana has struggled to maintain leads after strong starts in the playoffs and Game 5 was no different. After leading by eight in the first quarter, the Pacers gave it all back and more with an absolutely horrible second. 

Not only did they allow the Heat to score 26 points on 58.8% shooting in the second frame, but they did so with LeBron logging just 70 seconds of action. The second unit struggled to get things going offensively and when Frank Vogel put the starters back on the floor things weren’t noticeably better.

They scored just 11 points on 5-for-15 shooting. They had as many fouls (5) as made shots and Miami was able to score nine points off seven turnovers. The Pacers had just six miscues in the other 36 minutes.

By allowing the Heat to outplay them in the second, the Pacers opened the door for them to wrap up the series without getting much of anything from LeBron.

Miami’s Supporting Cast

LeBron had just seven points and played the fewest minutes among the game’s ten starters, by far, but the Heat had chances to win because of huge contributions from Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. 

Allen had 15 points off the bench despite a hip injury that left him a game-time decision, while Lewis turned back the clock with 18 points and 6-for-9 shooting from behind the three-point line. Lewis, who hadn’t scored in 43 minutes played against Indiana, came into Game 5 with 21 points in the entire playoffs.

Lewis scored 18 points only once during the regular season (Jan. 4 against the Orlando Magic). Championship teams always get unexpected contributions in big moments.

Neither team got much from their bench. Aside from Allen’s 15, the Heat had just four bench points. Luis Scola scored all six of the points Indiana received from their second unit.

Stephenson Flirts With Danger

Wednesday night’s game was a perfect example of why Lance Stephenson’s pending free agency is a no-win situation for the Pacers. There are times when he is the only player capable of snapping the team out of an offensive slide or injecting some energy when they are lifeless.

His antics against LeBron backfired in Game 4, but he still looked to agitate LeBron and Dwyane Wade early and often in this game. It worked to a degree, but Stephenson flirted with trying too hard on a few occasions. Trying to stay body-to-body with a guy the full length of the floor is an obvious attempt to draw a cheap foul and he’ll continue to accumulate fines for flopping.

Then there was his odd tactic of blowing in LeBron’s ear. It’s impossible to imagine the Pacers getting anywhere substantial without Stephenson, but it’s equally hard to see them getting over the hump with his unpredictability.