INDIANAPOLIS -- Trailing in a playoff series for the first time since the 2011 NBA Finals, the Heat used its off day Friday to rest its growing list of hurting players.
Miami canceled a scheduled practice at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and instead reviewed film and had a meeting at the team’s hotel. Media availability with the team also was canceled amid a national perception that the Heat is on the brink of a postseason meltdown. Miami will practice Saturday before returning to action Sunday for a critical Game 4 against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“It’s a must-win, honestly, for us,” LeBron James said. “If we come here and split and go back home, we feel good about ourselves.”
As the Heat knows firsthand, the momentum of a playoff series can change quickly. On the brink of taking a commanding 3-1 lead against the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 Finals, the Heat faltered in Game 4.
For Miami, the roles are now reversed.
Still trying to adjust to the loss of Chris Bosh, the Heat couldn’t overcome a poor shooting night by Dwyane Wade in Game 3 and managed just 12 points in the third quarter. Wade finished the game with five points on 2-of-13 shooting, the Heat shot 4 of 20 from three-point range and the Pacers won the rebounding battle 52-36.
“We’ve got to make sure we come out of halftime with a little more sense of urgency,” said Udonis Haslem, who had three rebounds in less than eight minutes of action in Game 3. “Third quarters have been rough on us pretty much all year.”
Priority No. 1 for the Heat on Sunday will be reestablishing Wade offensively. In Game 3, he failed to score in the first half for the first time in 95 career postseason games.
“We’re not going to win a ballgame with Chris Bosh out and me scoring five points, so I put the onus on myself,” Wade said. “There’s frustration in that.
“Obviously, you want to give your team a chance to win.”
Bosh was lost to the series in Game 1 because of an abdominal strain. In Game 3, it was Wade who appeared to be breaking down physically. Wade wouldn’t reveal any specific injury, but he missed 15 games this season with various leg and hand injuries.
“He’s a little banged up right now but he’ll be fine,” James said. “This is the playoffs. He’ll use these next couple of days to rest his body.”
And also calm his nerves.
Wade’s frustrations boiled over in Game 3 during a timeout in the third quarter. After a heated exchange with coach Erik Spoelstra, Wade walked out of the Heat’s huddle and needed to be subdued by Haslem and veteran Juwan Howard. The discord added and extra level of a panic to Thursday’s collapse.
“We all want to win,” Haslem said. “We got a lot of alpha males in this locker room, so we encourage each other and get on each other’s cases when need be. But it’s all constructive criticism.”
After the game, Spoelstra downplayed the incident and called it “the least of our concerns.”
“Dwyane and I have been together a long time,” Spoelstra said. “We’ve been together through basically everything. That, really, is nothing. That’s the least of our concerns. That type of fire — that’s good. That’s the least of our concerns. Our concern is getting ready for Sunday.”
Adding to the Heat’s injury woes, point guard Mario Chalmers needed an X-ray on his wrist Thursday night after taking a hard fall during Game 3. Results revealed no structural damage, according to Chalmers.
“We have a lot of banged-up guys,” Spoelstra said. “You can see some of the players running up and down and sometimes they’re staggering, but we’re fine.”
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