NBA: Second-quarter storm lifts Heat over Pacers and back to the Finals

(Updated 11:19am) The Miami Heat dominated the second quarter en route to a commanding 99-76 win over the Indiana Pacers, Monday (Tuesday, PHL time) at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida, punching their return ticket to the NBA Finals after winning the Eastern Conference in seven games.

The Pacers had evened the series at three-apiece following a 91-77 victory in Indiana, Saturday (Sunday, PHL time), but gave up a 33-16 second period to the defending champions, resulting in a deep hole that they simply could not climb out of.

It is the third straight year the Heat will play in the Finals. They have not missed a trip since assembling their "Big Three" of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.

In the first quarter, the visiting side turned the ball over a whopping nine times, but the Heat were unable to make them pay for it. Behind a balanced scoring attack, the Pacers were up 21-19 after the first twelve minutes, after holding the Miami to just 28.6 percent shooting.

Chris Bosh personified the Heat's struggles with a 1-of-8 shooting clip.

The second quarter however was a completely different story. As the Pacers' reserves struggled to hold down the fort.

Off a 23-all tie, the Heat exploded for a 16-6 run that included two triples from sharpshooter Ray Allen and a ferocious alley-oop dunk by LeBron James off one of Norris Cole's four assists, making it 39-29, 5:55 left.

A Lance Stephenson trey put the Pacers' deficit back to single digits, 46-37, at the 1:28 mark of the second, but four charities from James and Dwyane Wade made it a 13-point game, 36.4 seconds left.

David West missed a 16-footer on the other end, and then Mario Chalmers was whistled for a foul. The Pacers however missed the two charities, and off a Heat timeout, Wade connected on a lay-in to make it a 15-point buffer for the home team as the halftime buzzer sounded.

The Heat shot 58.8 percent in the second period, including a 4-of-8 clip from downtown, and a perfect 9-for-9 mark at the foul line. They also dominated the glass 11-3.

Indiana made some headway in the third, off consecutive David West jumpers, 61-49, less than halfway into the third. They then fell silent for two minutes though, giving up five to the Wade-James combo, as their deficit grew to 66-49.

More charities from Wade and Bosh made it 70-53, 3:14 left in the penultimate canto, and then Hibbert was whistled for an offensive foul at the 2:09 mark, his fifth personal, forcing the Pacers to sit him. Then just before the period ended, Paul George was also called for his fifth personal, and the resulting James charity 76-55, one quarter left.

The Pacers got a brief 6-1 run to cut their deficit to 79-61, but the Heat came back from the foul line, with a loose ball foul taking George's sixth foul at the 7:43 mark.

A Norris Cole triple, followed by free throws from Wade and Chris Andersen, sandwiched an and-one play by Hibbert, 92-66. After Gerald Green connected on an alley-oop, both teams sent in their benches to finish this one out.

There was still a late burst of fireworks though, as Norris Cole and Jeff Pendergraph got ejected at the 2:15 mark after a brief shoving match, with the score at 96-70.

LeBron has 32 points and is now 7 points away from tying Magic Johnson for 11th place on all-time postseason scoring list.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 4, 2013

James led all scorers with 32 points, 15 coming from the foul line, where he missed just one free throw. He also added eight boards, four assists, two steals and a block in 40 minutes of play.

Dwyane Wade with his first 20-point game since April 23. Timing was impeccable.

— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) June 4, 2013

Dwyane Wade put up 21 points for his first 20+ point game since late in April, plus nine rebounds, six on the offensive end. Chris Bosh added nine points and eight boards, while Ray Allen came off the bench for 10 markers, all in the first half.

Roy Hibbert led the Pacers with 18 points and eight rebounds, but was hampered all game with foul trouble. David West added 14 points and six boards, plus six of his side's 21 turnovers. George Hill and Lance Stephenson chimed in with 13 and 10 markers, respectively, while Paul George managed just seven points, seven rebounds and four assists before his early exit.

Miami dominated the offensive glass for a change, getting a 15-8 advantage for 22-12 edge in second-chance points. The Heat were also the more aggressive team, getting to the line 38 times and converting 33 charities, versus a 14-of-20 clip by the Pacers.

Game one of the NBA Finals is set for Thursday (Friday, PHL time), also in Miami. - AMD, GMA News