Indiana Pacers Even NBA Playoff Series At 2-2 With Big Win Over Miami Heat and LeBron James, 99-92

The Indiana Pacers rode the hot shooting of Roy Hibbert and Lance Stephenson to a 99-92 win over the Miami Heat to tie the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals at two games apiece.  The Pacers held the Heat's "Big Three" of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh to a combined 14 for 39 shooting in the process.

The Pacers had their backs to the wall in this playoff series with the Miami Heat going into tonight's game 4 in Indianapolis. It was essentially a win-or-else scenario for the Pacers, who had gotten blown out in Game 3 last Sunday, 114-96, their first home loss of the 2013 playoffs.

The key for the Pacers tonight was their ability to score the basketball inside. They scored 50 points in the paint, led by Hibbert, while the Heat could only score 32 points near the basket.

 Both teams were unable to score consistently from outside, with the Heat shooting just 34% from beyond the three-point stripe (8-23) and the Pacers even worse, at 21% (3-14) but Hibbert's ability to dominate the lane against Chris Bosh and the Heat's other big man, Chris Anderson, allowed the Pacers to control the game and the tempo.

Lance Stephenson proved to be an X-factor for the Pacers. Coming off of a five point output in game three, Stephenson came out tonight looking for his shot and was more aggressive tonight than at any point in this series, scoring 20 points on 9 of 15 shooting from the field. He chipped in with five rebounds and two assists but more than any other aspect of his game, he shut down the Heat's opposing two guard, Dwyane Wade. Wade was held to just 16 points on 5 of 15 shooting, along with three turnovers.

The next game, game 5, will be played in Miami on Thursday night.