Eddie Jones told the media that he does not want to leave the Heat.

Jones is being given a fair amount of the blame for the Heat?s loss to the Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals but head coach Stan Van Gundy doesn?t understand it.

''The thing I always try to convey to Eddie is the confidence we have in him.  We wouldn't have even been in the playoffs if it wasn't for Eddie Jones,? Van Gundy said.  ?The only thing Eddie Jones cares about is winning basketball games. With all of those qualities, it's still not enough for a lot of people. It's tough for me to understand why.''

Jones appreciates his coach?s support and wants to be part of the young Heat team?s apparent bright future.  ''This is growing,'' Jones said. ``I think anything that has room to grow, you want to be a part of it. What else can I say, I want to be a part of it."

Team President Pat Riley said the Heat is stacked with talent but needs more experience.

Finally emerging from obscurity to speak about his team, Riley said it would be foolish to believe the Heat is set for the future.

"We need a lot more work.  Let's not be na?ve here,? he said.  Riley went on to say that ?this team is flawed."

But Riley is optimistic that the core talent is there to build around, though it would be difficult to shed the contracts of Eddie Jones and Brian Grant in the process.

Riley also said he plans to speak to Heat owner Micky Arison about extending his front office contract and giving head coach Stan Van Gundy a new deal.

Heat president Pat Riley should be proud of his team and the job he did starting over and getting the Heat on the right track again.  Now there is the next step of the building process.

The Heat?s surprising season gives Riley a foundation upon which to build, and the groundwork from which he will try to turn good into elite.

?This was a major step forward for the organization in so many ways,? said first-year head coach Stan Van Gundy.  ?It creates a hope, an excitement.'?

Riley?s pick of Caron Butler and this year?s selection of Dwyane Wade were special, even more so with Wade whom this writer believes has superstar potential.  Riley?s gamble on Lamar Odom also paid off.

So the city of Miami once again is excited ? it believes that the Heat can keep going up ? and Riley has this city?s faith in his hands.

This Heat?s season that just ended was full of surprises and progress.

Perhaps none bigger than the excellent coaching performance that marked Stan Van Gundy?s first year as a head coach.

Believe it or not, Van Gundy has now coached more games with his current team than any coach in the Eastern Conference.

Van Gundy said that he?s become ''a little disheartened'' by all of the coaching changes, especially when ``people get a bad shake or weren't treated with a lot of loyalty.

"At the same time, it makes me all the more thankful for the situation I've been in and an organization that is extremely loyal.''

The Pacers beat the Heat in Game 6 in AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, 73-70, winning the playoff series 4-2 and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.  

The loss broke the Heat?s 18-game winning streak on their home court.

Jermaine O?Neal turned in two crucial defensive plays in the final 65 seconds of action to seal the victory.

This is the first time in four years the Pacers have
advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.  They will play the winner of the remaining Eastern Conference playoff series between the Nets and the Pistons, to be decided in Game 7 Thursday night.

Amid the excitement of the Heat?s surprising playoff run this season is the story of two boys who lost their brothers in a house fire and the relationship they since formed with the Heat players.

Robertson Auguste, the lone survivor of the fire, and his 20-year-old brother Conrad, who was not in the home on the fateful February 15 night, began their relationship when Lamar Odom reached out and had them to Heat pre-game events and games.  Odom pays their way.

They will be watching the action courtside tonight at AmericanAirlines Arena as the Heat try to tie the series and send it back to Indiana for a decisive Game 7.

They have become the team?s ?lucky charms.?

When the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series resumes tonight with the Pacers leading the Heat 3-2, the Heat will be back on its homecourt.  But it is the Pacers that appear to be solving matchups, mastering the gameplan, answering the questions.

The Pacers have gained an edge that extends beyond their homecourt dominance of 13 wins in a row.  Game 7 would be in Indiana at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle made a tactical move that stalled the Heat?s comeback by switching Ron Artest on Heat point guard Dwyane Wade, a move that turned the latter into more of a playmaker and less of a scorer.

Then Jeff Foster was assigned to harass Lamar Odom into 6-of-15 shooting.  And Jamaal Tinsley was orchestrating the Pacer offense to perfection.

Still Miami?s homecourt advantage is daunting.  "Miami's record at home speaks for itself," Carlisle said. "We're going to have to play our best game of the playoffs to even have a chance to win there."

Jeff Foster had a career night, scoring 20 points and pulling down 16 rebounds, as the Pacers won Game 5 of their Eastern Conference playoff series with the Heat, 94-83, to take a 3-2 advantage.

On this night Foster anchored a frontcourt that gave the Pacers dominance in the paint and on the glass, outrebounding Miami 47-30.  

The sold-out crowd at Conseco Fieldhouse chanted his name.  "They probably had to figure out what to say," Foster said. "I was smiling; it was very special."

"We looked totally unprepared tonight," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said. "After a game like this, the coach has to take the blame for not having the team ready."

The Pacers remain perfect at home in the playoffs.  Game 6 is in Miami on night.

The Pacers? Al Harrington and Jamaal Tinsley said Tuesday that they need to be more rough with Dwayne Wade, the Heat?s standout rookie.  

Harrington said, ?We have to put him on the floor,? to which Heat coach Stan Van Gundy replied, ?That the dumbest talk in the world.?  

?You get tired of hearing all that crap,? Van Gundy continued.  ?All that other stuff is macho B.S.?

Van Gundy speculated that the Pacers are trying to intimidate his first-year star.

Rookie Dwayne Ward scored two pressure baskets in the stretch as the Heat held on to beat the Pacers 100-88 and tie their playoff series 2-2.

The Heat had six players in double figures and won their 18th straight home game in front of a sellout crowd at American Airlines Arena in Miami.  They scored 100 points in the postseason for the first time since May of 1997, after 38 straight playoff games under the century mark.
The Heat has the Pacers attention now.  "We really haven't faced any adversity yet, but we are facing it now," Austin Croshere said.  "I think they believe they are a lot better than us," Wade said.

Lamar Odom scored 22 points, Caron Butler 21 and Wade 20 for the Heat, while Jermaine O'Neal scored 37 and Ron Artest 28 for the Pacers.

"Who would have thought we would be 2-2 at this point?" said Odom. "Everybody tells us we can't do it, but we keep battling and battling."

Game Five is Saturday at Indiana.  The Pacers have not lost at Conseco Fieldhouse since March 19 while the Heat have an 0-5 playoff record on the road in the playoffs.