The Eastern Conference Finals started tonight with Game 1 of the Miami Heat vs the Indiana Pacers. 

The Heat were the big favorites going into this series as the defending NBA champions and having the best player on the planet in Lebron James, but the Pacers have spoken very confidently coming into this series about their chances. 

The series kicked off tonight in South Beach and it was a closely contested game all the way through. 

The Pacers came to play tonight. They are known for there defense but the big question would be if the Pacers could find enough scoring to hang with the Heat. 

Tonight though, the two teams looked evenly matched with the game staying close the whole way and the score being tied with under a minute left. 

The Pacers actually went into half time with a 42-37 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Ray Allen made 1 of 2 free throws with 17 seconds left to give the Heat a 3 point lead. 

Paul George pulls up and hits a desperation 3-pointer to tie the game at the end of regulation. 

In overtime, it went down to the wire with Paul George being fouled on a 3-pointer with only a few seconds on the clock and hitting all three clutch 3's to put them up one. 

Then Lebron got the ball and drove with 2 seconds left for the game winning lay up. James ended the game with his 9th career post season triple double. 

David West was a strong post up and face up offensive presence and led the Pacers in scoring with 26 points. George had 27.

The Pacers showed in game 1 that they can hang with the Heat and this will be a tough series to take from them. 

Game 2 will be in Miami on Friday night on TNT.