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Paul George tallied 24 points and six assists as the Indiana Pacers pounded reigning NBA champion Miami 107-96 in the opening game of their Eastern Conference final series.
The Pacers started quickly by draining six of their first seven 3-point attempts en route to a wire-to-wire victory to begin the best-of-seven series against the two-time defending champions.
They also shot 59 per cent from the field in the first half to lead 55-45 at half-time in front of a crowd of 18,165 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Indiana continued to dictate the pace in the second half, leading by as much as 19 in the third quarter.
This is a rematch of last year’s conference championship, which was won in seven games by the Heat.
This year’s winner will play either San Antonio or Oklahoma city in next month’s NBA Finals.
Indiana’s win continues a season-long pattern that has seen the home team win each of their five regular season and play-off contests.
Roy Hibbert and David West each scored 19 points for the Pacers, who had six players in double figures. Hibbert also had nine rebounds and three assists in the victory.
Dwyane Wade scored 27 points and LeBron James finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who beat the Brooklyn Nets in five games to reach the conference finals.
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