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Miami • Down by 15 early, the Miami Heat could have hit the panic button.

Instead, they found a way to move within two wins of another trip to the NBA Finals.

LeBron James scored 26 points, Dwyane Wade added 23 and the Heat shook off a horrid start to beat the Indiana Pacers 99-87 on Saturday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, taking a 2-1 lead and breaking a back-and-forth trend in the rivalry. The teams had alternated wins and losses in 13 straight meetings — until now.

Miami once trailed 37-22, before outscoring Indiana 77-50 the rest of the way.

"A lot of our situations that we've been through where we've struggled have been against this team," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "That's what they do to you. They're very good. It's a function of their defense.

"But we had no choice but try to re-gather."

That they did.

And then some.

Ray Allen added 16 points and led a late-game charge for the Heat, who will host Game 4 on Monday night. And it was the second time this season the Heat rallied from 15 points down to beat the Pacers in Miami — it also happened on Dec. 18.

"Tough loss for our guys," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Thought we competed pretty well, came out of the gates really strong, got off to a good start and then didn't manage our foul trouble well and didn't manage picking up their defensive intensity well."

It's the third straight series where the Pacers have faced a deficit.

"A ton," Vogel said when asked how much resiliency the Pacers have left. "It's very early in the series."

Paul George scored 17 points for Indiana, shooting 5 for 13 in his return after being concussed late in Game 2.

Roy Hibbert had 16 points, David West added 13 and Lance Stephenson scored 10 for the Pacers, who never trailed until early in the third quarter.

Miami started the game 2 for 10 from the floor. The Heat then made 21 of their next 31 shots, including eight straight in the third that gave the two-time defending NBA champions their first lead.

James' dunk with 7:36 remaining in the third put Miami up for the first time, 52-51. That was the first of nine lead changes in the quarter, before the Heat did what Spoelstra implored his team to do in a pregame locker room address.

"Impose our identity," Spoelstra said.

Eventually, the message reached the Heat, and their two best players led the way.

"We just want to get better as the series goes on," James said. —

Heat 99, Pacers 87

Indiana 21 21 22 23 — 87

Miami 14 24 33 28 — 99

INDIANA (87)

George 5-13 6-10 17, West 5-8 3-3 13, Hibbert 7-13 2-2 16, G.Hill 2-5 3-3 8, Stephenson 3-9 4-5 10, Watson 2-6 0-0 6, Scola 4-6 0-0 8, Butler 2-4 0-0 6, Mahinmi 1-1 1-2 3, Turner 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals 31-65 19-25 87.

MIAMI (99)

James 9-14 7-9 26, Haslem 2-4 0-0 4, Bosh 4-12 0-0 9, Chalmers 3-4 0-0 6, Wade 9-16 3-4 23, Andersen 1-1 1-2 3, Battier 1-3 0-0 3, R.Allen 4-6 4-5 16, Cole 4-6 0-0 9, Lewis 0-2 0-0 0, Douglas 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals 37-68 15-20 99.

3-Point Goals—Indiana 6-21 (Butler 2-3, Watson 2-4, G.Hill 1-3, George 1-6, West 0-1, Stephenson 0-4), Miami 10-18 (R.Allen 4-4, Wade 2-3, Battier 1-2, Cole 1-2, James 1-2, Bosh 1-3, Chalmers 0-1, Lewis 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Indiana 40 (Stephenson 11), Miami 36 (Andersen 7). Assists—Indiana 17 (Stephenson 5), Miami 17 (James 7). Total Fouls—Indiana 22, Miami 24. Technicals—Watson, Bosh, Cole. A—20,025 (19,600).