SINANDALAN ng Indiana Pacers ang kanilang home-court advantage kaya naman naka-una sila sa Game 1, Eastern Conference Finals ng 2013-14 National Basketball Association, (NBA) kahapon.
Kumana ng 24 puntos at pitong assists si Paul George upang kaldagin ng Pacers ang two-time defending champions Miami Heat, 107-96.
‘’This is just a fun matchup,’’ wika ni forward George. ‘’It’s one that we’ve been waiting for all year.’’
Unang panalo sa playoffs ng Pacers ngayong taon at unang panalo rin nila sa Game 1 kontra Heat.
Lahat ng starting five ng Indiana ay kumana ng mahigit 10 puntos kaya marahil ay hindi nakayanan ng Heat ang humabol.
Bumira ng tig 19 points sina center Roy Hibbert at forward David West habang may 17 at 15 puntos ang inambag ng dalawang guard na sina Lance Stephenson at Goerge Hill ayon sa pagkakasunod.
Tumikada rin ang pang-anim na player ng Pacers na si C.J. Watson ng 11 puntos at apat na rebounds.
‘’There’s nothing to celebrate. It’s not like we won a championship. It’s one game,’’ ani Hill. ‘’Yes, it was good, but if we come out and lay an egg on Tuesday, this game doesn’t mean anything.’’
Si star player Dwyane Wade ang nanguna sa opensa para sa Heat matapos magtala ng 27 puntos at apat na assists habang nakakuha ito ng suporta kay four-time NBA MVP LeBron James na nagsumite ng 25 puntos, 10 rebounds at limang assists.
‘’The game’s still so fresh. It’s too hard to just say, ‘Well, we need to do this better in Game 2,’’’ sabi ni basketball superstar James. ‘’We need to evaluate our mistakes and things we did in Game 1 first before I can say what we need to bring to Game 2.’’
Sa Indiana pa rin ilalaro ang Game 2 bago lumipat sa Miami sa Game 3. (ARABELA PRINCESS DAWA)