MIAMI — The Pacers are an excellent basketball team, something they had proven by advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals and splitting the first four games of the series with the defending champion Heat.
But when LeBron James plays like he did in the third quarter of Thursday night’s Game 5, no team can stop him.
“That’s LeBron showing his greatness,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra would say afterward, “and making it look easy.”
James had 16 points, four rebounds and four assists in the third quarter alone, leading Miami on a 19-4 run to end the quarter and delivering the Heat a 90-79 victory, one that moved them within a game of the NBA Finals for a third straight season heading into Game 6 in Indianapolis tomorrow night.
“That’s what I came here for,” said James, who poured in a game-high 30 points. “That’s what I came here for, to be able to compete for a championship each and every year.
“We are one step away from doing it once again.”
After the Pacers took a 53-51 lead with 5:33 to go in the third on a jumper by Paul George, James hit a jumper to tie the game, set up Mario Chalmers for a 3-pointer to put the Heat ahead and then combined with Udonis Haslem to score the final 14 points of the quarter for the Heat, suddenly turning what was an even game into a 70-57 lead for Miami after three quarters that they would never relinquish.
“I was just in attack mode in the third quarter, looking for my shot,” said James, who went 7-for-10 from the field in the third on his way to finishing the game with 30 points, eight rebounds and six assists, “Luckily, I was able to make some.”
While James and Haslem combined for 26 points alone in the third, the Pacers managed to scrape together just 13, shooting 3-for-14 in the quarter — including missing their final five shots — and also committed five turnovers that led to nine Heat points.
“We can’t have flat quarters like that,” said George, who also was terrific, finishing with 27 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. “Credit [James] for making shots, but most of it was us. We just didn’t defend at a high enough levelto get the job done.”
Indiana was led by George and Roy Hibbert, who finished with 22 points. The duo also combined to score the first 29 points of the game for the Pacers.
Though Indiana’s starting frontcourt of George, Hibbert and David West (17 points) combined to score 66 points, the Pacers’ starting backcourt of George Hill and Lance Stephenson had a night to forget, combining to score five points on 2-for-11 shooting.
“It’s on me,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “I have to make sure those guys are involved and getting better looks. And, if they’re out of sync, we’re going to struggle. I have to get them more involved.”
Last night’s game also featured the same emotions and intensity that have been on display between the two teams throughout the series. Five technical fouls were called during the game, including two when Heat forward Chris Andersen all but lost his mind early in the second quarter, shoving Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough to the ground, then jawing at him before they bumped chests, leading to Andersen giving Hansbrough a two-handed shove.
He then had to be restrained first by referee Marc Davis and then a Heat security person, who had to drag Andersen back to the Heat bench. Somehow, however, Andersen escaped with just a flagrant-one foul and a technical, allowing him to remain in the game. Hansbrough also picked up a technical on the play.
West, Haslem and Chalmers all later picked up technicals in the third quarter after West and Chalmers exchanged words and Haslem joined in.
tbontemps@nypost.com