Miami Heat Brace for Game 6 Against Pacers: Fan Reaction (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
(Thu, 24 May 2012 00:38:00 PDT)
The Miami Heat will try to secure their spot in the Eastern Conference finals when they visit the Indiana Pacers on May 24.

Heat's Haslem suspended for 1 game, Pittman for 3 (The SportsXchange)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 19:00:18 PDT)
The NBA has suspended Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem for one game and Heat forward Dexter Pittman for three games for their retaliatory flagrant fouls in Tuesday's Game 5 of their series against the Indiana Pacers.

Miami Heat players suspended
(Wed, 23 May 2012 16:48:56 PDT)
The NBA has slapped Miami forward Udonis Haslem with a one-game suspension and center Dexter Pittman with a three-game ban over incidents in game five of their playoff series against Indiana.

Heat-Pacers Preview (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 16:32:32 PDT)
MIAMI (AP) Udonis Haslem insists he meant no harm. The NBA deemed otherwise, and the Miami Heat will be without one of their co-captains when they try to close out the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.

Haslem suspended for Game 6 of Heat-Pacers (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 16:31:32 PDT)
MIAMI (AP) Udonis Haslem insists he meant no harm. The NBA deemed otherwise, and the Miami Heat will be without one of their co-captains when they try to close out the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.

Heat's Haslem suspended for Game 6 of East semi-final
(Wed, 23 May 2012 16:17:49 PDT)
(Reuters) - Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem has been banned for Game Six of the Eastern Conference semi-final after a review of his flagrant foul against the Indiana Pacers, the National Basketball Association (NBA) said on Wednesday.

Heat's Udonis Haslem, Dexter Pittman suspended for flagrant fouls against Pacers
(Wed, 23 May 2012 15:53:01 PDT)
The league has suspended Udonis Haslem and Dexter Pittman for their flagrant fouls.

NBA roundup: Pacers president Larry Bird calls his team soft (The SportsXchange)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 15:40:15 PDT)
The worst playoff loss in Indiana Pacers franchise history had team president Larry Bird calling out his players, according to an Indianapolis Star report.

Heat's LeBron James leads NBA all-defensive team (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 15:04:39 PDT)
NEW YORK (AP) NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James was the leading vote-getter for the league's all-defensive squad Wednesday, while Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler didn't even crack the first team.

Heat's Bosh out for Game 6 (The SportsXchange)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 14:41:08 PDT)
Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh, who has been sidelined since sustaining a strained abdominal muscle in Game 1 of the series against Indiana, will not play in Thursday's Game 6, but he has not ruled out the possibility of playing if the Heat advance, ESPN.com reported.

Heat's James leads all-defensive team (The SportsXchange)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 13:31:38 PDT)
NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James is the leading vote-getter for the league's all-defensive team.

Dexter Pittman abides by Pat Riley's Heat code by cracking Lance Stephenson
(Wed, 23 May 2012 13:30:34 PDT)
Dexter Pittman's flagrant foul on Lance Stephenson shows the Heat are willing to back for LeBron James.

Report: Bird calls Pacers 'soft' (The SportsXchange)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 12:51:22 PDT)
The worst playoff loss in Indiana Pacers franchise history had team president Larry Bird calling out his players, according to an Indianapolis Star report.

LeBron tops NBA All-Defensive squad
(Wed, 23 May 2012 11:21:10 PDT)
NBA 2012 Most Valuable Player LeBron James, the Miami Heat playmaker still seeking his first NBA title, was the top vote-getter among those named on Wednesday to the NBA 2012 All-Defensive Team.

Heat roll over Pacers to lead series
(Wed, 23 May 2012 06:58:57 PDT)
Miami got their swagger back as they scored the opening three points and never trailed to easily beat Indiana 115-83 in game five Tuesday to take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference series.

Mike Miller loses shoe, plays two possessions without it, Pacers don’t score (VIDEO) (Ball Don't Lie)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 06:35:49 PDT)
If any member of the Miami Heat was going to lose a shoe and have to run around in his sock for a minute or so during a playoff game, it was going to be Mike Miller. He's already dealt with problem after problem since joining the Heat before last season — thumb and shoulder injuries, hernia surgery, ankle sprains, probably countless other dings that never leave the trainer's room, plus actual real-life issues — so what's one more inconvenience? Miller stepped out of his left shoe while rebounding a missed 15-footer by David West in the third quarter of Game 5 . Rather than stay behind the play to put it back on and let his teammates run four-on-five for a few seconds — which wouldn't have been too damaging, considering Miami already had a 17-point lead — the former Rookie of the Year pressed on, tossing the shoe to the sideline and running to his spot on the wing. After a Shane Battier miss, Miller had to hustle back on defense and actually wound up cutting off Leandro Barbosa's drive. He then stayed with Barbosa as Indiana set up its offense, sagged to chuck West as he dove to the basket, and recovered to contest Barbosa's deep end-of-the-shot-clock 3-pointer, which missed, leading to a James rebound and — mercifully for TNT color commentator Steve Kerr, who seemed really upset at Miller playing in his stocking feet — a timeout by Miami coach Erik Spoelstra to give his swingman the chance to get re-shod. Two possessions, some sound defensive work and representatively bad offense by a Pacers team that couldn't seem to do anything right on that end. Miller's just lucky he's on the same team as Dwyane Wade. That guy knows how to take advantage of situations like this. Is the clip above not working for you? Feel free to see the shoelessness elsewhere, thanks to 1jzo .

Haslem has started to play his game, not Bosh's (The SportsXchange)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 01:31:19 PDT)
If nothing else, this Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Indiana Pacers has allowed Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem to return to his roots.

Pacers might face elimination game without Granger (The SportsXchange)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 01:31:14 PDT)
The Indiana Pacers were bound to be blown out at some point in their series against Miami. Too bad it happened on national television. And too bad it caused them to put their backs against the wall.

James and Wade lead Heat past Pacers, 115-83 (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 01:26:20 PDT)
MIAMI (AP) Dwyane Wade was bleeding after taking a smack in the head from Tyler Hansbrough, who became the target of a retaliatory shot from Udonis Haslem a few moments later.

Larry Bird calls his Indiana Pacers ‘soft’ following the team’s physical Game 5 loss to Miami (Ball Don't Lie)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 23:15:02 PDT)
He might not be right, and it might be an overreaction, but in the words of Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski , "you knew Larry Bird wasn't going to sit this one out." In the hours following Indiana's Game 5 loss to the Miami Heat , in a physical affair that saw the Pacers blown out while taking in the two nastiest of the three flagrant fouls doled out on the evening, the Pacers president and 2012 NBA Executive of the Year called his team "soft," in a short discussion with Indianapolis Star beat writer Mike Wells following the game. And, if there was any confusion, Bird spelled the word out. Here's Wells' brief, but impactful discussion with the pissed-off Hall of Famer :

Heat retaliate after Pacers' hit on Dwyane Wade with force, nastiness and LeBron James
(Tue, 22 May 2012 22:55:42 PDT)
Miami played like a hockey squad protecting its stars and Indiana appears to be done in the East semifinals