#3 - 2012 Eastern Conference Semi Finals Game 4 - Indiana Pacers (A)

#3 - 2012 Eastern Conference Semi Finals Game 4 - Indiana Pacers (A)

Miami Heat 101, Indiana Pacers 93

Most of the games in the top 5 make it because of the importance of the game, whether it be title saving or winning (G6 and 7 against the Spurs), or legacy changing (G6 against Boston). This one makes it on the quality of the game alone. Not that the stakes weren’t high, too. The Heat had fallen into a 2-1 hole against the always tough Pacers, facing another game on the road. This is back when the Pacers looked like legitimate contenders with the Heat, and posed a seemingly un-defendable inside threat to the Heat, especially with the crowd behind them. Bosh was injured, Wade had looked out of sorts, and it looked like everything might fall apart for the Big 3 experiment before it had really began. Game 6 against Boston that year was the more well recognized season saving road victory, but this wasn’t far behind. And for appreciators of Wade and James’ game, this one can’t be beaten. Wade had been woeful in the previous game (the worst shooting game of his playoff career at that point; 2/13), and even seemed to have a spat with his coach, Erik Spoelstra. In the first half, he also struggled, and it wasn’t until he connected on a 3 late in the first half with George in his face that he came to life. LeBron found him cutting to the basket for an easy dunk to end the half. And from that point on Wade would destroy the pacers. His strong second half saw him finish with 30 points, and he would be unstoppable in scoring 41 in a close game 6 on the road to complete the series win. 

But it was his combination with James in the 2^nd half of game 4 which was most breathtaking. LeBron had 45 and 15 against Boston, but he had a similarly HUGE 40 and 18 here. With 9 assists for good measure. His rebounds were almost as impressive as his buckets. It was a truly unbelievable performance, one for the ages. With Bosh absent, the big 2 combined for all but 2 points in a phenomenal 25-5 run to chase down the Pacers lead in the 3^rd. They would score 38 straight points for the team, and with the help from crucial Haslem jumpers in the 4^th, who was playing with a gash to his right eye, would go on to win one of the most important games they had played together. At the end of the game, LeBron embraced Wade in a hug, looked up at the scoreboard and smiled as they walked off to the booing of the crowd in their black cape uniforms, and all who had watched it knew they had witnessed one of the more remarkable games they would ever see. 

The highlights:

LeBron’s and Wade’s individual highlight packages are worth watching in completion on their own. But I’ll go through some of my personal favourites for you

•  Haslem’s put back dunk, followed by a Wade steal and behind the back dish for a LeBron james layup
•  Every lebron rebound
• Wade’s 3 over George in the 1st half to break the seal
• Wade with two gorgeous crossovers to get to the rim to take the Heat to 57
• Then following that up with a drive and kick for a LeBron slam after cutting along the baseline
• Wade falling down, getting back up and hitting the corner 3 off balance to continue the ridiculous run
•  And then a breathtaking no look pass from LeBron to an uncovered wade near the rim for the slam
• And those last 5 plays all happened one after the other …
•  LeBron’s strong and 1 layup to finish the 3^rd quarter run
• LeBron’s putback dunk in the 4^th
• And then block on the next play
•  Haslem, playing with tape over his busted eye, stepping up to close the game with 3 huge clutch jumpers

   If game 6 was the peak of James’ monster 2012 playoff run, which culminated in his finals dominance, then this game was the beginning. I’m not sure this game has quite the firepower to overtake either of the top 2 games for best Heat game, but it might be the most fun to rewatch.