The moment that finally won the game, the one that sent the Eastern Conference finals careening downhill on this joy ride, happened at the very end. Get used to that.

It happened when LeBron James had the ball in his hands again, sizing up the Pacers’ defense and feeling it out for the kind of lane to the basket that he found in Game 1. This time, it wasn’t there.

But the moment that will come to define whatever rollicking events await us happened much earlier. At the end of the third quarter, moments after Paul George had beaten James off the dribble and sent Chris 'Birdman' Andersen fluttering for cover with a vicious dunk, James drove on George and unleashed a quarter-closing dagger from well beyond the 3-point line.
After the horn, James followed George the other way, extended his hand and said, “Hey.” They connected, and James said, “I got you back, young fella.”

And with that, James -- the locomotive, the NBA’s most feared, destructive and celestial force -- had welcomed his counterpart to the East finals.

And, to the club.

With that outstretched hand and words of respect, LeBron James had welcomed Paul George to the elite.

“That was a moment for me that I’ll always remember,” George was saying at his locker after the Pacers beat the Heat 97-93 on Friday night to even the best-of-7 series at a game apiece. “I’m ready for the challenge. He’s ready for the challenge..