If you were out and about last night and nowhere near a TV, then you missed out on one heck of a game in Miami as the Pacers topped the Heat, 97-93. Roy Hibbert, who was noticeably absent from the final play of Game 1, had one of the best games of his career with 29 points and ten rebounds. George Hill had 18 points, including four clutch free throws down the stretch. Paul George, meanwhile, gave the Pacers 22 points and, perhaps more importantly, great defense on LeBron James. With a balanced effort, Indiana managed to knot things up at 1-1 and grab the attention of the basketball world. "Take nothing away from their Big Three, what they have going," George told reporters, including Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. "But we'll take a big five any day. That's what we have." Here's more on the Pacers..
- As George did, head coach Frank Vogel credited the club's depth and team effort for their Game 2 victory. "That's how Larry Bird put this team together. As a true team…It's balanced, and it's difficult to guard," the coach told reporters (courtesy of Scott Agness of Pacers.com, via Twitter).
- Last night's road win is proof that the Pacers are way ahead of schedule, writes HoopsWorld's Joel Brigham. Indiana has shown that they’re every bit as good and every bit as confident as Miami, which nobody saw coming in 2013.
- Marc Berman of the New York Post (on Twitter) jokes that David Stern deserves his last Finals to be Pacers vs. Grizzlies after the way he championed small market teams in the last CBA.