Heat Even Series With Pacers Thanks To Unlikely Duo

The Miami Heat tied the Eastern Conference Championship series with the Indiana Pacers at 1-1 last night with an 87-83 victory.

LeBron James and Dwayne Wade only put up 23 points in the first three quarters, but combined for 22 in the fourth quarter to help lift the Heat over the Pacers.

That previous sentences is what most stories about this game will lead with. ESPN will be showing highlights of Wade and James going off in the fourth all day today, but the truth is that the Miami Heat would not have won the game if it wasn’t for two unlikely players keeping them in it throughout.

Chris “Birdman” Anderson and Norris Cole allowed for Wade and James to rally back by being the only competitive players on the court throughout the first three quarters.

Anderson and Cole combined for 39 points in just 56 minutes of play. 31 of those points came during the second half. Cole also helped shut down Lance Stephenson who had been rolling over LeBron James the entire game. After James and Cole switched, Stephenson was virtually a non-issue.

Stephenson had a huge night, scoring 25 points, dishing out seven assists and grabbing six rebounds. Stephenson mustered up only two points in the fourth quarter with Cole on him.

Anderson also contributed in other areas other than scoring. He pulled down a postseason-high 12 rebounds for his team.

This is what makes the Heat such a dangerous team. They can come at you from so many different angles. One of the cliche things analysts used to say about the Heat is that they were so potent because of the Big Three. If you shut down James, then Bosh would kick into gear, if you shut down Bosh, Wade would step up, etc. But now see that even if you shut down the Big Three, you still may be in trouble.

Game 3 will be on Saturday with Miami having home-court advantage.