INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The coveted NBA championship, the one LeBron James needs to validate everything, was vanishing.

With 18,000 towel-waving fans roaring like the engines at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indiana Pacershad knocked the Miami Heat to the floor and to the edge of elimination.

James didn't panic. He simply picked up his teammates and carried them to a win.

And this time, Dwyane Wade helped.

PHILADELPHIA -- Andre Iguodala squared up for a 3-pointer from the wing like he had hundreds of times in his career.

This shot was different from all the others.

Iguodala continued a postseason where his final numbers don't pop on the box score, but the buckets are as pivotal as they get. He snapped a tie game with five straight points in the final 90 seconds to help the Philadelphia 76ers storm back from 18 points down in the third quarter and stun the Boston Celtics 92-83 on Friday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Dwyane Wade lashed out in frustration during the worst playoff game of his career.

His target wasn't wearing an Indiana uniform. Wade confronted his coach as the Miami Heat melted.

The star had an animated exchange with Erik Spoelstra on the sideline in the third quarter, a disturbing low point on a night when nothing went Miami's way, and the Heat were throttled 94-75 by the Pacers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Kevin Garnett yapped his way down the court after big baskets and clearly enjoyed taking it to the 76ers.

Rajon Rondo pushed the ball and relentlessly attacked the lane.

Paul Pierce gutted out a knee injury and grinded his way to the free throw line.

Boston hears the whispers that it's too weary and too old to win another championship. By the time they forced Sixers fans to flee their seats, the Celtics proved it's still too early to count them out.

Everything always seemed to come so easily for Larry Bird on a basketball court.

The way the ball appeared almost destined to swish through the net every time he finished his lightning-quick release with a flick of his right wrist. The way he could suck a defender in while running the break, only to zip a no-look pass to a cutting Boston Celtics teammate for an easy bucket.

The way Bird related to his Indiana Pacers players as a coach, pushing the right buttons and drawing up the perfect plays late in games to lead his team to the NBA Finals.

MIAMI — LeBron James and Dwyane Wade did almost everything for Miami — until the final minute.

And that has the Heat facing their first big problem of the postseason.

David West scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Indiana Pacers took home-court advantage away from Miami by beating the Heat 78-75 in Game 2 of the teams' Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday night — after James and Wade both came up short on key opportunities down the stretch.

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio - Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving is the NBA's Rookie of the Year, winning the award with the same ease as he dribbled past defenders this season.

Irving received 117 of 120 possible first-place votes from a nationwide media panel of 120 writers and broadcasters. Irving finished with 592 points, way ahead of Minnesota's Ricky Rubio (170) and Denver's Kenneth Faried (129), who was third.

BOSTON -- Not this time, Celtics.

After letting another fourth-quarter lead slip away in Boston, Philadelphia took it right back and held on to it, fighting off every run the Celtics made down the stretch for an 82-81 victory Monday night to even the Eastern Conference second-round series at one game apiece.

"We knew to expect the same type of game," said Evan Turner

MIAMI -- LeBron James was promised some rest. It never came.

The MVP didn't care, not after he and the Miami Heat struck the first blow against the Indiana Pacers.

ames accepted his third MVP trophy from commissioner David Stern before the game, then scored 26 of his game-high 32 points while playing every second of the second half -- adding a season-high 15 rebounds as well -- as the Heat survived some rough stretches to beat the Pacers 95-86 on Sunday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

MIAMI (AP) LeBron James spent two days trying to figure out the right words. An assistant jotted some ideas on notecards, which were ignored. So when the moment came to deliver his MVP acceptance speech, James spoke emotionally about family, charity, history and what the Miami Heat organization means to him.

And he finished with a flourish.

''Heat nation, we have a bigger goal,'' James said. ''This is very overwhelming to me as an individual award. But this is not the award I want, ultimately. I want that championship. That's all that matters to me.''