Miami Heat forward Ray Allen (C) shoots a three-point basket against Indiana Pacers guard Lance Stephenson (L) during their Eastern Conference Finals playoff game at the American Airlines Arena in Miami on Saturday.

DPA/Los Angeles


It wasn’t the Big Three sparking the Miami Heat, it was the big threes from Ray Allen.
Allen scored 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter Saturday night, upstaging his superstar teammates and powering the two-time defending champion Miami Heat to a 99-87 home victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.
“It’s great to have him on our side,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
LeBron James had 26 points and seven assists and Dwyane Wade scored 23 points for the second-seeded Heat, who overcame an early 15-point deficit and their lowest scoring first half of the season to take a 2-1 series lead.
Allen is the NBA’s all-time leader in three-pointers whose clutch shot from the arc rescued the Heat in last year’s NBA finals. He had been quiet through the first two games, totalling just 15 points.
But Allen caught fire in the final period, draining four three-pointers without a miss after the Pacers had pulled within two points. He took advantage of a matchup with Pacers forward David West as Indiana stayed with its big lineup against Miami’s smaller group.
“Ray got hot and they kept finding him in transition,” Pacers forward Paul George said.
“It’s not just the makes, though,” Spoelstra said. “It’s the spacing, it’s the movement. He gives you another layer of offence.”
After a flurry of points from George, the 38-year-old Allen made a three-pointer to widen the lead to 79-74 with 8:23 to play.
After a steal by Wade, James found Allen in transition at the arc. On the next possession, he spotted up in the left corner and buried a three-pointer to push the margin to 90-79 with five minutes left.
“Ray creates so much for our team,” James said. “His ability to move without the ball, to shoot the ball - he shifts the defence by himself. He got it going and we wanted to continue to find him.”
James made a jumper and Allen added the clincher with another three-pointer for a 97-82 advantage with 2:50 to go.
“It’s extremely difficult to guard, especially when you’re playing big against them,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “We’ve just got to do a better job with it.”
The Heat shot 54 percent (37-of-68) from the field survived another subpar game by Chris Bosh, who had foul trouble and scored just nine points.
Miami closed the first quarter on a 10-4 run, the second quarter on a 16-5 surge and the third quarter on a 12-3 spurt. I thought we got comfortable,” George said. “That’s an area we’ve got to improve in.”