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. Nike Air Force 1 Low . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. Nike Air Force 1 Shoes Cheap .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. http://www.airforce1shoescheapsale.com/ .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. Nike Air Force 1 Low Mens Sale .C. United of Major League Soccer. United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. Nike Air Force 1 Online Store . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Florida Panthers spoiled Jaroslav Halaks solid night in a hurry.Jonathan Marchessault tied the game with 13.6 seconds left in regulation and Denis Malgin scored late in overtime, helping the Panthers beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on Saturday.Florida trailed 2-0 in the third period before getting goals from Kyle Rau and Marchessault.Marchessault tied it when Halak blocked a shot but let the puck trickle through his pads and in.Malgin, a rookie, poked in a rebound with 45.8 seconds left in overtime.It was great to see the kid score an overtime, Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said. A 19-year-old kid doing that was big for our club.The late goals ruined a stellar effort by Halak, who had 40 saves.It cant happen with 13 seconds left in the game and the hockey game on the line. Halak said. These two points we lost tonight are my responsibility. I have to stop that shot.Brock Nelson and Nick Leddy scored for New York. The Islanders are 0-4-1 on the road and have lost five of their past six, and three in overtime.Its like a bad dream right now. Were playing good hockey and the guys cant catch a break, Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. A tough one at the end.Roberto Luongo made 17 saves to win his second straight start after losing the previous four. James Reimer entered with 50.4 seconds left in regulation and made one save, but Luongo re-entered after it was tied and played in overtime.Luongo got involved in a rare fight when he threw punches with Nelson behind the net during a chippy second period.I kind of lost it a little bit there, Luongo said. I let off a little steam. It was a tough game for everybody with the way things were going; the bounces and the calls and all that kind of stuff but good teams stick with it and overcome adversity.Rau got his first career goal. He shot from low in the left circle then grabbeed his own rebound and poked the puck behind Halak at 8:56 of the third.ddddddddddddThe Islanders went ahead 2-0 on a power-play goal by Leddy. Luongo initially blocked Leddys shot, but the puck bounced off Nelson in the crease, over Luongo and went off his blocker and back into the net at 9:54 of the second. The Panthers claimed that Nelson interfered, but the goal withstood a lengthy review. The power-play goal was just the fifth for the Islanders this season.The Panthers had a potential goal reversed at 5:07 of the second. Aaron Ekblads shot from the point went into the net just as Jaromir Jagr bumped Halak in the crease. The goal was initially disallowed, but that was overturned after an officials review. The Islanders issued a coachs challenge and the officials reverted to the initial call of no goal.Nelson gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead with 22 seconds left in the first period. The puck caromed out to Nelson low in the right circle while Luongo was prone in the crease after blocking a shot, and Nelson swept the puck into the open net.This was the first meeting between the teams since last Aprils first-round playoff series, won by the Islanders in six games.Game notes The Panthers claimed forward Seth Griffith off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Griffith is expected to join the team when they visit Montreal on Tuesday. ... Panthers rookie forward Shane Harper cleared waivers and was sent to AHL Springfield. ... Panthers winger Reilly Smith played his 300th NHL game. ... John Tavares, who had an assist on Leddys goal, leads the Islanders with five goals and 12 points.UP NEXT:Islanders: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night.Panthers: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night. ' ' '