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Pacers Vs. Heat, Game 4 Links: What Jump-Started Dwyane Wade's Big Game?

By Tom Lewis

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Presswire

The Indiana Pacers were simply overwhelmed in the second half of their Game 4 loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday by an epic performance from LeBron James supplemented by a monster second half from Dwyane Wade. The pair scored 70 points on 50 shots, the most points they've combined to post in a playoff game in the past two seasons.

If there is any good to be gleaned for the Pacers it's that LeBron's 40 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists wouldn't have been enough to beat them. In fact, even throwing in Wade's 30 points, they still needed Udonis Haslem to rise to the occasion down the stretch and make some big mid-range shots.

I've heard more than once in the time since the game ended that Danny Granger's technical for jawing with Wade was what sparked the dynamic guard's second-half excellence. But according to Wade, he already had sparked his game just prior to the technical when he drained a tough, step-back three pointer with Paul George right in his face followed by LeBron finding him zooming along the baseline for a big dunk. Those two plays turned what had been a 1 for 8 shooting performance in the first half into a 3 for 10 effort as Wade eventually made 12 of his last 15 shots.

The Pacers made the Heat work for their big game and they have to continue to do so if they want to win this series. With only one day off between games now fatigue should be the Pacers' ally.

Check out the links after the jump, including some post-game reaction from Paul George, David West, Wade and James.

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