The Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers have been preparing for their showdown since last year's Eastern Conference Finals series that turned into a classic. Both teams have the utmost respect and animosity towards each other.

In an evenly matched confrontation, any advantage can make a big difference. That's why both teams are making a conscious effort to finish first in the Eastern Conference. They want homecourt advantage in their anticipated Eastern Finals match up.

Lance Stephenson scored a triple double in their game against the West no. 2 Oklahoma City Thunder. He is already looking towards their next game-the final regular season game. From ESPN: "We're going to treat it (the season finale) like a playoff game. We have to get that No. 1 spot. That's what we wanted from the beginning of the season so we have to take it, not get it, we have to take it."

At 55-26, Indiana is half a game ahead of Miami at 54-26.

Pacers' coach Frank Vogel praised Stephenson, who hit a crucial three pointer that placed Indiana in a position for the win. "He's a big part of our personality, a big part of our edge, a fan favorite with good reason and he's one of the head coach's favorites."

The Sun-Sentinel broke down the playoff situation for the Heat and Pacers. It seems like Indiana will finally get a chance to have homecourt advantage against the defending champs: "With Sunday's 102-97 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the Indiana Pacers reduced their magic number to clinch the No. 1 seed in the East to one: either a win in their Wednesday season finale on the road against the Orlando Magic or a Heat loss Monday at the Verizon Center against the Washington Wizards or Wednesday at AmericanAirlines Arena against the Philadelphia 76ers.

   Sunday's victory improved the Pacers to 55-26. The Heat, who were idle Sunday, are 54-26. While the Heat and Pacers finished their season series tied 2-2, the Pacers hold the tiebreaker by virtue of a superior Eastern Conference record (37-14 to 34-16)."

So even if both teams will end up with identical 56-26 records, it's still Indiana. However, they still need to win in Orlando to make that official. If they lose and Miami wins both their last two games, the champs are no. 1 again.