Basketball On The Internet.

A THIRD quarter LeBron James avalanche buried Indiana 90-79 in South Beach today, giving Miami a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference Final series.

James scored 16 points on 7-of-10 field goals with four rebounds and four assists to turn Game 5 - and perhaps the series - on its ear.

His outburst was the most points in a quarter by any Heat player this postseason and he either scored or assisted on 25 of the Heat's 30 points for the period.

Ahead 70-57 with a period to play, James had set the victory in motion after Pacers centre Roy Hibbert and emerging superstar Paul George had looked sharp in the first half.

The duo dominated the first quarter which saw Indiana ahead 23-19, George and Hibbert responsible for all 23 points.

George scored 13, shooting 5-of-7 and doing most of his damage while being defended by Dwyane Wade.

Hibbert shot 4-of-7 for 10 points but the Heat was quicker bringing double teams at him.

Miami changed its strategy from the outset, making Udonis Haslem - not Chris Bosh - its key defender on Hibbert.

The Pacers' 7-footer had 14 points at halftime but the tactics paid after the interval as Haslem fronted Hibbert, deflecting passes and causing a mismatch at the other end by sticking his jumper.

Hibbert had eight points in the second half on 2-of-5 shooting, with three boards and two turnovers. He had been averaging 12 boards but finished with six.

Haslem finished with 16 points.

David West also became less effective after a 10-point first half as Bosh worked hard defensively, the Pacers power forward with seven points after the break on 2-of-6 shooting.

Indiana's backcourt also was reduced to ordinary, Lance Stephenson and George Hill pairing for more turnovers (six) than points (five), Stephenson finishing with four points at 2-of-7 shooting, Hill with a point and 0-of-4 from the floor.

West lost his cool five minutes into the third quarter, yelling at Mario Chalmers before exchanging words with Haslem when he intervened. All three copped techs.

Paul George scored 27 but it wasn't enough on a night James was superb in the second half for 30 points.

With Wade and Bosh combining for a measley 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting, James turned the Holy Trinity into the "Holy Cow - look at this guy!"

"That's LeBron showing his greatness and making it look easy," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

The stakes were clearly higher, the niggle factor turning into occassional scuffles, Heat backup centre Chris Andersen dishing an AFL hip-and-shoulder to Pacer forward Tyler Hansbrough in the second quarter.

Both players were assessed a technical foul on the play - what Hansbrough did is a mystery but then the officiating was decidedly, shall we say, "odd" - Andersen also assessed a Flagrant 1 foul.

That could well be upgraded before Sunday's Game 6 in Indiana, possibly leading to a suspension.

"It's a physical series but nobody, on either side, wants to take it over the top," Spoelstra said.

Too late!

THE NBA's Most Valuable Player, Miami superstar LeBron James, and Indiana's David West and Lance Stephenson each were fined $5,000 today by the league for flopping in Game 4.

The fines came for violations in Indiana during the Eastern Conference Final game won 99-92 by the Pacers on Wednesday.

Stephenson's flop, falling over or to the court after minimal contact from an opposing player, came in the last seconds of the first quarter when he tried to entice a foul against Miami's Ray Allen after incidental contact.

James and West flopped when they made contact with each other near the basket on the same play with Miami leading 89-87 late in the fourth quarter.

James is the best player on the planet. Why he does this stuff remains a blot on his legacy.