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MIAMI -- Their season, their legacy, their reign atop the NBA was all at stake, and the Miami Heat responded in a manner befitting defending champions -- with a blowout. LeBron James scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds, ailing Dwyane Wade matched his post-season high with 21 points, and the Heat ran away from the Indiana Pacers 99-76 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference series on Monday night. In the NBA Finals for the third straight year, the Heat will play the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 on Thursday in Miami. "Theyre just an amazing group of guys," Heat managing general partner Micky Arison said after handing the East trophy to Chris Andersen. "Theyve given us an incredible season so far, but its a long way from over." It could have ended on Monday, of course. The Heat had alternated wins and losses with the Pacers in the first six games of the series, and were coming off their worst offensive outing of the year in Game 6. They responded with a rout, despite shooting just under 40 per cent, well below their norm. "By any means necessary ... we took care of business," James said. Miami led by as many as 28 points, a shocking amount for a series that had an aggregate score of Heat 569, Pacers 564 entering Monday night. The Heat actually trailed by six in the early going, were still down 21-19 after the first quarter and it was starting to look like it was starting to look like one of those down-to-the-wire nights. Not even close. "You never want to take anything for granted," Wade said. "Being here three straight years in a row, going back to the finals, is an amazing feat. Im just glad we were able to do it. Everything that happened in the first six games didnt mean anything to us. It was about tonight. It was about Game 7. It was about finding a way to win here at home." James exited with 5:08 left, shaking retired soccer star David Beckhams hand as he made his way to the Heat bench for a relatively subdued celebration. Not long afterward, security personnel started whats become a familiar task in Miami -- surrounding the court and stretching out a yellow rope, preparing to hold people at bay for the looming on-court trophy presentation. More than a few people didnt stick around to see the East title formally presented. After all, its an all-or-nothing season for the Heat -- and this trophy isnt the one that will satisfy them. Ray Allen added 10 points for Miami, which earned its 78th victory of the season, matching the 11th-best, single-season total in NBA history. "Its just a privilege to be with this great team, great teammates, and we have another opportunity to go back to where we are," Heat forward Chris Bosh said. "You never really want to get it out of the way too much. Game 7s dont happen too often. We enjoyed it and now we have to move on." Roy Hibbert scored 18 points for the Pacers, who got 14 from David West, 13 from George Hill and 10 from Lance Stephenson. All-Star Paul George was held to seven points on 2-for-9 shooting and fouled out early in the fourth quarter. George was the last Indiana player on the floor as Miami prepped for its postgame celebration, shaking any hand he could find before being walked toward the visiting locker room by Pacers coach Frank Vogel, who slung an arm over his stars shoulder. His time will likely come -- someday. Not yet, though. Not with this Miami team built for titles. Its the fourth trip to the finals for the Heat, who won the title in 2006 and have now been there all three years of the "Big Three" era, falling to Dallas in 2011 and then topping Oklahoma City in five games last year. "The great thing is were a young team and we are past the building stage," George said. "This is really our first year tasting success. The rate we are going, we see championships soon." Theyre getting closer. A second-round loss to Miami in six games last year was followed by a seven-game, conference-finals exit this time around. Still, theyll be watching the title round. "Everybody in this country knows who the Indiana Pacers are now," Vogel said. "And we represent all the right things -- class, character, hard work, old-school basketball, playing the game the right way. We represented our franchise, our city and our state extremely, extremely well, and we have a lot to be proud of." Miami went 2-0 against San Antonio this season, though neither of those games should be considered harbingers of whats ahead. The Spurs rested four regulars in the first meeting, the Heat were without three injured starters in the second matchup. "Its crazy that it worked out this way," Wade said. James delivered an inspirational address of sorts to his team Monday morning, publicly revealing no details of what he said afterward other than insisting that the Heat would be ready. He was right. After 5 minutes, it was 12-6 Indiana. After that, the rest of the half was pretty much all Miami. Once the Pacers cooled off a bit, the Heat immediately went into pull-away mode. Over the final 19 minutes of the half, Miamis edge was 46-25. Over the final 11 minutes, it was 33-14, as James and Allen outscored the Pacers by themselves. Allen did less pregame shooting than usual on Monday. He was at the arena several hours before game time -- as is his custom -- and got in a pregame workout, but once he found a groove, he decided that was enough. And after going 13 for 46 in the first six games of the series, the NBAs career leader in 3-pointers had to believe that he was simply overdue to get going. His first shot on Monday was a 3-pointer that connected, giving the Heat a 26-23 lead. The Heat never trailed again. "We just focused on every possession, trying to get stops, play Miami Heat defence, create havoc," James said. "I thought we did that tonight." By halftime, it was 52-37, with James scoring 18 points, Bosh and Wade combining for 17 and Allen adding 10 more. And what had to be most troubling to the Pacers at halftime was their 15 turnovers, a number Vogel said earlier Monday would spell trouble if his team committed that many in the entire game. And in the third, the run the Pacers so desperately needed never arrived. Indiana was still within 13 with 3:37 left in the period when Hibbert picked up his fourth foul. Ordinarily, that would mean someone goes to the bench, though Game 7 on the road for a trip to the finals hardly could be classified as an ordinary occasion. So Vogel -- who was second-guessed for not having Hibbert on the floor for the final moments in overtime of Game 1, when James got to the rim easily for a game-winning layup -- left his centre out there with four fouls. Barely a minute later, it backfired. Hibbert picked up his fifth late in the third, and George got to five fouls by getting whistled twice in the final 46.1 seconds of the quarter. By then, the outcome was obvious. It was Miamis night. "Well enjoy this," Spoelstra said, "for a short period of time." NOTES: Miamis Norris Cole and Indianas Jeff Pendergraph were ejected with 2:17 left after exchanging some heated words. ... The Heat kept struggling Shane Battier on the bench, with Mike Miller getting his minutes. ... .Andersens streak of 18 straight field goals made (he had been 15 for 15 in the series) was snapped in the first half. ... Beckham, who is deciding whether he wants to bring a Major League Soccer team to Miami, was seated next to the Heat bench for the second straight game. Justin Bieber and Flo Rida were also in the crowd, as was reigning American League MVP Miguel Cabrera. ... The Pacers fell to 2-4 all-time in Game 7s, including 0-4 in road editions of winner-take-all games to decide the Eastern Conference title. ... Hibbert did not elaborate Monday about his comments that drew a $75,000 fine after Game 6, saying he wanted to focus on basketball instead. Todd Helton Jersey . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. Tyler Anderson Jersey . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. http://www.rockiesgearproshop.com/ . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Trevor Story Jersey . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. David Dahl Jersey . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers defense is a frustrated and embarrassed group after back-to-back losses against Miami and New England.One day after defensive end Cameron Heyward said he felt like his defensive teammates quit during Sundays home loss against New England, defensive coordinator Keith Butler disagreed.Regardless, the Steelers hope to solve their problems stopping the run and rushing the passer, all while taking a break to recover from injury during the teams upcoming bye week.We have to play harder, we have to play more physical, Butler said on Tuesday. I think were capable of playing harder and more physical, but I dont think we quit by any means.Its frustrating and were all frustrated at this point in time, Butler said.Heyward missed the first two games of his career with a hamstring injury during the Steelers most recent losses against Miami and New England. He wasnt happy with his defensive teammates after the Steelers kicked a field goal that cut the Patriots lead to 20-16. New England needed just three minutes to answer with a six-play, 75-yard drive, as a 37-yard strike to an open Rob Gronkowski set up LeGarrette Blounts second touchdown.It was like we just quit, Heyward said. I dont mean to say that lightly, but I feel like we had so many opportunities out there. I felt like after that, it was almost like the wind got pushed out of us.Linebacker Lawrence Timmons also feels the defense can do better.Thats not our best performance, said Timmons, a 10-year veteran. Thats definitely not a strong showing by us. Thats not a display of who we are.Miamis Jay Ajayi rushed for 204 yards and two touchdowns against the Steelers two weeks ago. Ajayi was the sixth in history and first since Jacksonvilles Fred Taylor in 2000 to rush for more than 200 yards against the Steelers.Blount followed it up with a 127-yard, two-touchdown effort ffor the Patriots a week later, as Pittsburgh allowed close to 400 yards rushing in back-to-back weeks.ddddddddddddWe cant play like that as a defense, Heyward said. We let them run the ball. Too many times theyre falling forward and thats not what were supposed to do.You have to have some pride when youre out there. Guys have to step up, whoevers out there. There cant be a letdown.It doesnt help that the Steelers cant get to the quarterback either. Pittsburgh is tied for last in the league with eight sacks, one season after finishing third in the category. The defense is also tied for 26th with three interceptions after ranking sixth last season.Heyward said the Steelers problems arent for a lack of effort, but rather technique. Butler would like to see an increase in physicality.Some of it is that we have to be a lot more physical than what we are, Butler said. Were trying to correct that.The Steelers hope to take care of their problems during the bye week.Whoever is in there has to step up, Heyward said. We have to have a concerted effort from everybody and it has to show on Sunday. Thats the most disappointing for me because I know what this defense is capable of.Game notes Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was a limited participant in Tuesdays practice, throwing passes during individual work eight days after surgery on his left knee. Its still unclear when Roethlisberger will return to action. . Tight end Ladarius Green practiced for the first time since signing a four-year, $20 million contract as an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. Green started the season on the physically unable to perform list because of offseason ankle surgery. The team now has 21 days to determine whether to put him on the 53-man roster. ' ' '