The Indiana Pacers played so dreadful offensively in the first half in Game 2 that one would assume they trailed the Miami Heat by at least a dozen points.

They shot just 32% from the field, including 2-for-9 from deep while also committing 12 turnovers. Even without Chris Bosh in the lineup for the Heat, putting up that type of effort was almost certainly a death wish for the Pacers.

Only it wasn’t.

The Heat held a slim 38-33 lead at halftime, as Indiana played good enough defensively to keep themselves afloat despite a drought of more than five minutes in the second quarter and the fact that they trailed by a score 33-24 with four minutes left.

In the third, the Pacers outscored the Heat by a 28-14 margin thanks to an 18-3 run over a six-minute stretch as the quarter neared its end. They entered the final period leading 61-52 and had just enough gas in the tank to hold off LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in crunch time.

Miami won the last 12 minutes, but Indiana took the game 78-75 to even up the best-of-seven series at one game apiece.

So, how did they do it?

Counteracting Small Lineup

With Bosh out, the Heat went small late in Game 1 and their offense immediately became more effective. It’s not surprising then, that Erik Spoelstra went small often with Ronny Turiaf and Udonis Haslem playing only 25 combined minutes despite both starting. Joel Anthony logged 35 minutes and played extremely well, but often times James essentially played as a four.

Frank Vogel went small with Leandro Barbosa in and Roy Hibbert out for a few stretches, but the center quietly did a nice job of patrolling the paint to deny penetration even if the Heat abused him with high pick-and-rolls. Miami had plenty of good shots out of those sets, but they finished the game shooting just 34.6%.

One would assume that a smaller lineup would be more dangerous from the perimeter, but doing so would be incorrect in this case. Including the three-pointer missed by Mario Chalmers on the game’s final possession, the Heat were just 1-for-16. In Game 1, they missed all six of their attempts.

The Heat shot 35.9% from three during the regular season (10th in the NBA) and they attempted just 15.6 per game (more than only seven teams).

Protecting The Paint

Hibbert only had eight points and 11 rebounds, but rejected three shots and helped the Pacers keep James and Wade out of the paint with his presence. He played more minutes than he did on Sunday because he stayed out of foul trouble.

Having their defensive anchor on the floor helped, but Danny Granger and Paul George also did a much better job keeping James and Wade in front of them.

After hanging 52 points in the paint on the Pacers in Game 1, the Heat had 38 in the loss. George frustrated Wade once again with his length, holding him to 8-for-22 shooting. The second-year wing was just 4-for-11 from the floor himself but Indiana needs his defense more than anything else.

James put a lid on Granger once again, but the latter did a nice job on the former as well.

Another point of emphasis for the Pacers, keeping the Heat from getting out on the fastbreak, went their way as well. Indiana had 17 turnovers, but Miami had just six quick points.

Enforcing Their Will

The Pacers play physical defense and that means they will foul a lot, much different from how the Heat play on that end of the floor. Both teams finished in the top ten in points allowed per 100 possessions this season despite those contrasting styles.

This is also the playoffs and Indiana has no problem increasing the frequency of their hard fouls. In the second half of Game 2, that frustrated James and Wade.

Dahntay Jones tried to go straight up on a shot attempt by Wade in the paint, resulting in a no-call by the officials. Frustrated by the lack of a whistle, Wade tracked down Darren Collison and lowered his shoulder into the point guard from behind. It was an ugly flagrant foul from one of the league’s biggest names.

A few minutes later, James took offense to a hard foul by Granger, which resulted in the removal of his headband, and a double-technical was called.

Wade accused the Pacers of celebrating excessively after the victory, confirming that they have gotten under the skin of Miami’s superstars. Heading back to Indiana, it now becomes a matter of how deeply they can burrow themselves.