Heat eliminate Pacers again, await winner of Thunder and Spurs.
The Miami Heat secured a blowout win in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers and advanced to the season finale for a fourth straight year.
LeBron James and Chris Bosh each scored 25 points as Miami eliminated the Pacers for a third consecutive season with Dwyane Wade and Rashard Lewis each adding 13 points to secure the rout.
“I’m blessed. Very blessed. Very humbled,” James said.
“And we won’t take this opportunity for granted. It’s an unbelievable franchise, it’s an unbelievable group. And we know we still have work to do, but we won’t take this for granted. We’re going to four straight Finals and we will never take this for granted.”
Miami set a franchise record with their 11th straight home post-season win, which dates back to the final two games of last season’s NBA Finals.
Coach Erik Spoelstra praised his players for their ability to compete at the highest level and to continue to find a way to be successful, with the likes of Wade and Udonis Haslem reaching their fifth NBA Finals in the last nine seasons.
Meanwhile, Paul George had 29 points for the visitors while David West added 16 and Lance Stephenson finished with 11 as Indiana will now be forced to deal with the disappointment of failing to reach their target for a second consecutive season.
As for Miami, they will now have a significant rest as they watch on to see whether they will face the San Antonio Spurs or the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals 2014, with the Western Conference rivals set for Game 6 on Saturday night as the Spurs lead 3-2.
NBA Results:
Indiana Pacers 92-117 Miami Heat
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