It was right there. With 5:33 left in the fourth quarter, Roy Hibbert scored to give the Indiana Pacers a 75-72 lead in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat. Solid execution down the stretch at home was all the Pacers needed to take a commanding 2-0 lead over their rival and the reigning NBA champions, but LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had other plans.

After a James turnover that resulted in a missed shot by Lance Stephenson, the duo keyed a 10-0 run over the next three-plus minutes. The stretch of dominance earned the Heat a split at Bankers Life Fieldhouse as the series shifts to Miami this weekend.

In a seesaw game, LeBron and Wade attempted twelve of their club's 17 shots in the fourth quarter. After Indiana took that three-point lead, the tandem outscored the Pacers 15-8 by themselves en route to an 87-83 win. They went 6-for-8 from the field and combined with their teammates to turn things up defensively. During the game-deciding run, the Heat scored on five straight possessions thanks to two offensive rebounds.

Norris Cole hit a three with 10:45 left that gave Miami a 67-65 lead. LeBron and Wade scored the team's final 20 points and 22 of their 25 in the final period.

During Indiana's three-minute scoreless stretch, they committed two turnovers and missed four shots -- including a George Hill three that was blocked. If Hill had gotten the shot off, and made it, the game would have been tied at 78 with more than three minutes left.

The Pacers played very well for 43 minutes, doing enough to back the Heat into a corner that has historically been extremely difficult to rebound from, but they couldn't handle Miami's intensity and comfortability in big moments.

Now the Pacers must win one of the next two games in Miami to gain back home court advantage. That's easier said than done, especially when Tuesday night's loss was filled with some many what-if moments.

Paul George Scare

George created a stir postgame when he said he "blacked out" while taking an inadvertent knee to the back of the head from Dwyane Wade with a little less than seven minutes left in the game. The result of the play was a shot clock turner by Miami and George laid face down on the court for a few moments while teammates attended to him.

From the point of the knee on, George scored one point. He went 1-for-2 from the foul line, committed a turnover and didn't officially attempt a field goal. He fought blurred vision over the final six-plus minutes. George wasn't effective even before the incident, scoring 14 points on 4-for-16 shooting, but the unfortunate episode is troubling nonetheless.

Not As Much Defense As It Appeared

The final score, 87-83, may indicate a defensive battle, but that wasn't necessarily the case. The pace of the game was extremely slow, Miami attempted just 67 shots, and the Heat shot above 50% from the field for the second-straight game. 

Indiana and Miami were similar from three, at the foul line and in the turnover department, which left rebounding and a made shot here-or-there as the deciding factors. The Pacers had a +3 differential on the glass, including 16 offensive rebounds, but hit just 40% of their field goals.

In the fourth quarter, the Heat won the rebounding battle 12-6 and held the Pacers to 7-for-19 shooting.

Stephenson Sets Pace In Third

Trialing 41-37 at halftime, the Pacers took a lead into the fourth thanks to an impressive performance by Lance Stephenson out of the break. Stephenson scored 10 of Indiana's 26 points in the period while logging a full 12 minutes. He was 4-for-7 from the field with three rebounds and two assists. He kept the offense flowing smoothly and put Indiana in position to win despite a poor shooting night from George and David West (5-for-16).

He also did an admirable job on Wade, even down the stretch. Wade finished 10-for-16 with 23 points, but had three turnovers and several of his made shots were right in Stephenson's mug.

Familiar Formula

The Pacers used a balanced offensive effort to win Game 1 going away despite strong performances from LeBron and Wade. All five starters scored in double figures and Miami got more than half of their points from the two superstars, but the result was different.

Norris Cole was a big reason why. He was extremely efficient in more than 26 minutes of action, scoring 11 points on four shots. He also had two assists and a steal without a single turnover. He was +14 in the game, his highest +/- in the 2014 postseason. 

Fran Vogel, meanwhile, got just nine points from his bench on 3-for-13 shooting. In a four-point loss, no member of the second unit was better than -4. C.J. Watson, who played the most minutes (13) of the second unit, missed all four shots he took, committed two fouls and had a turnover. He was -13.