MIAMI — For the entirety of the regular season, the supremacy of the Heat in the Eastern Conference was brought into serious question by the Pacers.
Then came the playoffs.
And the question was answered — emphatically.
The Heat became the third franchise in NBA history to reach the title series in four consecutive seasons, a laugher of a conference-title finale getting them there again Friday night. LeBron James and Chris Bosh each scored 25 points, and Miami eliminated the Pacers for the third straight year with a 117-92 romp in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.
“I’m blessed. Very blessed. Very humbled,” James said. “And we won’t take this opportunity for granted. It’s an unbelievable franchise, it’s an unbelievable group. And we know we still have work to do, but we won’t take this for granted. We’re going to four straight Finals and we will never take this for granted.”
Dwyane Wade and Rashard Lewis each scored 13 points for Miami, which trailed 9-2 before ripping off 54 of the next 75 points to erase any doubt by halftime. The Heat, who led by 37 at one point, set a franchise record with their 11th straight home postseason win, going back to the final two games of last season’s NBA Finals.
“The group loves to compete and loves to compete at the highest level, and be pushed to new levels,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Indiana led the East for much of the regular season, one in which the Pacers were fueled by the memory of losing Game 7 of the East finals in Miami a year ago. So they spent this season with a clear goal: Toppling the Heat as kings of the conference.
The Pacers were two games better in the regular season, but they were two games worse in the postseason. Game 7, this time, would have been in Indianapolis, but the Pacers just had no shot of making it happen, not on this night.
“It’s bitterly disappointing to fall short of our goals,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said.
Paul George had 29 points for Indiana, David West scored 16 and Lance Stephenson — booed all night — finished with 11.
“No regrets,” Stephenson said. “All of us played hard. They were just the better team, and they won.”
Miami’s largest lead at any point this season, before Game 6, had been 36 points. Indiana’s largest deficit of the season had been 35 points.
After a layup by James with 3:39 left in the third, the margin in this one was 37 — 86-49. James’ night ended not long afterward.
“It was just one of those games that we want to play from beginning to end,” Bosh said. “Here on our home court, we wanted to make a statement.”