LeBron James, who earned his third league MVP award Saturday, finished with a game-high 32 points as star-studded Miami defeated Indiana 95-86 to take the opening game of their second round playoff series. James, the game's best player, has won the MVP award three out of the last four years and is chasing his first ever NBA championship. “Defensively, we stepped up,” James said. “We know we had to get stops and that would give us a better chance to win.” James also had 15 rebounds and five assists and guard Dwyane Wade had 29 points and four assists, while Chris Bosh added 13 points for the Heat, who also won three of four regular season games over the Pacers. Forward David West and center Roy Hibbert scored 17 points each for the much-improved Pacers, who finished off Orlando in five games Tuesday to advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2005. Heat forward Bosh suffered a lower abdominal strain shortly before halftime at AmericanAirlines Arena and did not return. Bosh dunked over the Indiana Pacers' Hibbert and drew the foul with 1:06 remaining in the second quarter, but landed awkwardly on the floor. He made the free throws and left soon after for the dressing room. “It is unfortunate Chris went down,” Wade said. “For me, I just had to turn it on and be more aggressive.” The score was even after three quarters, but Miami opened the final quarter with an 8-2 run and never lost the lead after that. Game two of the best-of-seven series is Tuesday in Miami. Clippers eliminated In Memphis, Chris Paul finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists as the Los Angeles Clippers eliminated the Memphis Grizzlies 82-72 in game seven of their Western Conference playoffs. It was the first game seven win in the club's 42-year history. The Clippers also recorded just their third ever playoff series win. The Clippers advance to face the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the second round, beginning Tuesday in Texas. “I want the guys to enjoy this, and then we'll regroup tomorrow and focus in on that,” Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. “But obviously another big challenge for us.” Los Angeles got a brilliant performance from their bench players down the stretch. The reserves scored 25 of their 27 fourth-quarter points as Kenyon Martin, Mo Williams and Nick Young combined for 33 points and 12 rebounds. Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol scored 19 points apiece for the Grizzlies who missed all 13 of their three-point shots. Mike Conley shot a disappointing two-of-13 from the field and the team managed to shoot a combined 32.5 percent (25-of-77). The heavy use of the reserve players late in the game came at the expense of Clippers' rising star Blake Griffin who sat for the final minutes. Griffin, who injured his knee earlier in the series, finished with 28 minutes of playing time and was three-of-11 from the field. He had just four rebounds.
