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First Posted: 5/29/2014 INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &#8212; Paul George scored 31 of his 37 points in the second half Wednesday night and almost single-handedly kept the Indiana Pacers alive in the Eastern Conference finals with a 93-90 victory over the Miami Heat.
The Pacers still trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. Game 6 will be played Friday night in Miami.
It took a frantic effort just to extend the series, even with the foul-plagued LeBron James held to just seven points in 23 minutes. Chris Bosh led the Heat with 20 points missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
Indiana turned a 50-41 deficit into a 64-57 lead after three, then led by as much as 11 in the fourth. But Miami&#8217;s last-ditch rally made it 91-90 with 16 seconds to go before Indiana held on.
Miami failed to clinch its fourth straight Eastern Conference title.
The Pacers played like a desperate team trying to save their season. They chased shooters all over the floor, ran down loose balls, even put themselves in harm&#8217;s way. Lance Stephenson appeared to hurt his left shoulder in the third quarter after a hard fall and still finished the game.
But hard falls and tough plays were a theme all night for a team that had been roundly criticized for its lack of effort in Monday night&#8217;s loss.
&#8220;We just played. Our backs are against the wall right now so that&#8217;s all we can do,&#8221; George said. &#8220;We were in a position that if we lost this game, we&#8217;re going home so I think that was in the backs of everybody&#8217;s minds.&#8221;
Until George amped it up in the second half, it looked like the Heat would close out the series with a fourth straight win.
But unlike Game 2, when the Pacers couldn&#8217;t stop Dwyane Wade and James late, the Pacers fended off the closing charge from the two-time defending champs &#8212; barely.
George&#8217;s incredible ability to hit big shot after big shot and a defense that refused to give the lead away late eventually saved the Pacers, and only after they twice failed twice to take advantage of James&#8217; absence in the first half. The Pacers finally figured it out midway through the third.
&#8220;I just felt it. I felt in rhythm. I had to be aggressive,&#8221; George said. &#8220;I tried to come out and be aggressive to start this game off and I was getting looks. I got hot.&#8221;
Trailing 50-41 with 6:56 left in the third quarter, George started the comeback with a layup and ended the 11-0 run with a steal and dunk that gave Indiana a 52-50 lead with 3:54 left in the quarter. It was the first time Indiana led since 24-22.
Miami quickly tied it on Udonis Haslem&#8217;s layup.
Then the Pacers thought they had seized control. George hit a 3-pointer and Lance Stephenson drove in for a layup to make it 57-52, and when George hit a buzzer-beating 3 to end the third, the Pacers led 64-57.
Indiana extended the lead to as much as 77-66 when George followed another steal with a dunk.
But when James re-entered, Miami took off. The Heat scored nine straight to make it 77-75 and finally tied it at 81 on James&#8217; only 3 of the night with 3:51 to play.
Indiana got a short bank shot from West and 20-foot jumper from George to make it 85-81. Bosh and Rashard Lewis, who had 18 points, each hits 3s in the final 1:16 to cut the lead to one, but George hit a 3 and David West made 1 of 2 free throws to seal it.
&#8220;It&#8217;s going to be a totally different ball game (in Miami),&#8221; George said. &#8220;But we have to rise to the challenge. It will be a fun matchup.&#8221;
Notes: George&#8217;s 21 fourth-quarter points were the most ever scored in one quarter of a playoff game against Miami. The previous best was 20 by Michael Jordan in May 1997. &#8230; Miami was plus-15 in the first half when James was on the bench. &#8230; Roy Hibbert had five rebounds in the first 6:42 after having only five in Game 4 and two in Game 3. &#8230; Indy native and 10-time Grammy Award winner Kenneth &#8220;Babyface&#8221; Edmonds sang the National Anthem.

Pacers stay alive with 93-90 Game 5 win over Heat