Pacers
His season over, cartoonish Lance Stephenson now has four months to either grow up or dream up some more sophomoric shenanigans.
His Indiana Pacers face another long summer, too, to contemplate roster moves and bemoan how they could play so dreadfully in a defining game against the team they spent three years trying to topple.
'They're built for those moments,' David West said. 'They are able to get to a level that for some reason we can't.'
This 117-92 loss was a deplorable and embarrassing exit for Indiana, the Eastern Conference's top seed eviscerated Friday by a Game 6 Heat avalanche and undone by first-half no-shows by Paul George, Roy Hibbert, George Hill and their entire bench.
'I thought we were going to win,' Stephenson said. 'We worked so hard to get to this point. Everybody is hurting.'
West (16 points before fouling out) and Stephenson (11 points) were the only Pacers who did much of anything offensively in the first half, when Indiana was overwhelmed by a 58-25 avalanche that erased an early 9-2 Pacers lead.
But Stephenson simultaneously served up another silly sideshow, elbowing LeBron James at the start of a timeout, putting his hands over James' mouth, swiping Norris Cole across the face and unnecessarily egging on a crowd showering him with boos.
After two weeks of foolishness, the Heat has had just about enough of Stephenson.
After he cupped James' face during a first quarter stoppage, James blurted: 'Don't [expletive] touch me.'
Stephenson irritated the Heat further when he jumped in the air and slapped Cole in the face while both were going for a loose ball.
'It was a loose ball - I was going for a loose ball,' Stephenson said. 'I know it looks bad. I didn't do it on purpose.'
Stephenson was charged with a flagrant foul on the play with 8:47 left in the second quarter.
He didn't score again, missing both his shots in the second half.
Soon after that play, Udonis Haslem - from the Heat bench - was seen telling Stephenson: 'I'm going to [expletive] you up.'
It never came to that. In fact, Stephenson hugged Dwyane Wade and James after the game, with James patting Stephenson on the stomach.
Stephenson said James told him: 'Keep working hard. You have the talent.'
Stephenson closed with 13 points (4-for-9 shooting) but was helpless to stop James' forays to the basket.
He said afterward that he has 'no regrets' about anything in this series. 'I am very passionate about basketball,' he said.
'Sometimes I tend to do things out of control. It's my heart and competitiveness to win the game. Nobody is perfect.'
George, off a 37-point Game 5 epic, did nothing of consequence when the game was close, scoring one point and shooting 0 for 6 in the first half. He finished with a largely empty 29 points, nearly all of those coming after the outcome was decided.
Hibbert, who shot 0 for 4 in Game 4, was thoroughly outplayed by Heat center Chris Bosh, took only three shots and closed with eight points and four rebounds.
The Pacers were outclassed by most every statistical measure, unable to come close to matching the Heat's intensity, energy or execution.
The Heat shot 57.9 percent to the Pacers' 46.4. Indiana was outrebounded 37-28 and was annihilated in points in the paint, 50-32.
In all, it was dismal closing act for a team that fashioned itself as a serious title contender.
The Pacers claimed the No. 1 seed after prioritizing it all season, but ultimately it meant nothing, with the Heat taking Game 2 on the road and winning all three of its home games.
'We can't beat them [at this time],' West said. 'They were able to neutralize our size. They are more seasoned for this moment. We fell short to a great team in the midst of an unbelievable run led by the best player on the planet.'
In My Opinion
Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra and Dwyane Wade built the Heat to withstand all challengers. They built a team for the long run. So what we have in Miami now is a rite of June. The air turns sultry, the Royal Poincianas bloom and the Heat goes to the NBA Finals. The Heat is ripening. How juicy it is.
GAME 6 | HEAT 117, PACERS 92
Heat blows away Pacers in Game 6 to become the third franchise to advance to four consecutive NBA Finals
In My Opinion
Miami advances to its fourth consecutive NBA Finals
Entities 0 Name: Stephenson Count: 12 1 Name: James Count: 8 2 Name: Pacers Count: 6 3 Name: Indiana Count: 3 4 Name: Dwyane Wade Count: 2 5 Name: Miami Count: 2 6 Name: David West Count: 1 7 Name: Hibbert Count: 1 8 Name: Erik Spoelstra Count: 1 9 Name: West Count: 1 10 Name: George Hill Count: 1 11 Name: Royal Poincianas Count: 1 12 Name: Chris Bosh Count: 1 13 Name: Roy Hibbert Count: 1 14 Name: Lance Stephenson Count: 1 15 Name: Udonis Haslem Count: 1 16 Name: Pat Riley Count: 1 17 Name: Eastern Conference Count: 1 18 Name: Paul George Count: 1 19 Name: Norris Cole Count: 1 20 Name: Indiana Pacers Count: 1 21 Name: George Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1nNMOuo Title: Stephenson: Bird said to stop the antics Description: Lance Stephenson's ear-blowing antics are over. That was the order the Indiana guard got from Pacers president Larry Bird, who took issue with Stephenson's antics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat. Stephenson was caught by television cameras blowing into the ear of Heat star LeBron James.
