Former Indiana Pacers star Tyler Hansborough was seen explaining how his team was completely decimated by LeBron James and the Miami Heat during game 7 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals. With the series tied at 3-3, LeBron came into the match fully locked in and according to Tyler, was playing at another level. Hansborough, in a clip shared by InspiredbyHoops on Instagram, was seen claiming how James was simply unstoppable, and that the match had effectively gotten over within 7-8 minutes.
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Tyler, who was playing for the Pacers alongside his brother Ben Hansborough, claimed that he remembers telling him that he could not believe anyone could be better than James, the way he played through the match.
“Oh boy, that game was over within the first 8 minutes. I remember looking at my brother like, ‘Man, it’s hard to believe somebody is ever better than LeBron. The way he is playing tonight, we couldn’t stop him, you know we double him, he finds an open man, he was running the court, he was locked in that game,” Hansborough revealed, before talking about the role the likes of Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade played in that team.
LeBron however, was the obvious star of the game, producing 32 points and 8 assists while converting 15 of his 16 total free throws. “No he wasn’t losing. And D-Wade, Bosh was, those guys were really, really good but they smacked us. We didn’t really have a chance the way LeBron was playing,” Hansborough explained.
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The Miami Heat went on to finish the job against the San Antonio Spurs in the Championship Final. James not only ran the show in the Conference Finals but was also selected as the Finals MVP.
Paul George had sent out an ominous warning before the 2013 series with the Miami Heat
While the Heat were obviously star-studded, the Pacers relied heavily on then-23-year-old Paul George, who was fresh off his first All-Star appearance. George had claimed before the Eastern Conference Finals that he was expecting his team to challenge the Heat, according to Yahoo.
“Honestly, I look at us challenging them. I’ve been in the East and I’ve been No. 1 with LeBron being on a team. Really, what I’m looking at is it coming down to me getting us past the conference finals. I’m confident in myself. I’m confident in what I can do.” George had said, expressing confidence in his own ability to compete with LeBron and co.
However, things went ahead far differently. PG saw inconsistency, scoring at least 22 points in just 4 out of the 7 games. Game 7 saw him convert just 2 of his 9 shots, as he returned with just 7 points, the lowest among the Pacers’ starters that day, according to Basketball Reference.
