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INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Pacers bizarre season came to a familiar end Friday night. Another embarrassing loss at Miami. Now Larry Bird must spend the off-season trying to figure out what went wrong and what must be fixed to finally beat the Heat in the playoffs. "You just have to go into the off-season with the mindset that were going to reload. We have a core, a system, a culture thats going to give us a chance every year," coach Frank Vogel said after Fridays 25-point, season-ending loss. "Weve got to make whatever adjustments we have to make to come back and be here again next year." There are plenty of questions heading into what could be a turbulent off-season. Will Vogel be back after leading the Pacers to 42, 49 and 56 wins in his first three full seasons as coach, capturing back-to-back Central Division titles, reaching the last two conference finals and earning the No. 1 seed for only the third time in franchise history? Will the Pacers re-sign free agent Lance Stephenson, their 23-year-old energizer, whose erratic behaviour became a major distraction in the Eastern Conference finals? Could Hibbert be on the trading block after struggling through Indianas confounding second-half swoon and nearly disappearing, at times, during the playoffs? Might Bird make other moves to cope with the NBA trend of spreading the floor, add scorers or rebuild the bench yet again? Or do the Pacers simply need more time to mature? While those answers might not come for months, one thing is clear: They must find a way to get past Miami after three straight playoff series losses, the last two in the Eastern Conference finals. "Obviously, theyre more prepared, theyre more seasoned for this moment," David West said. "Theyve been able to embrace these moments to get to a level that we, for some reason, cant compete." Bird spent last summer revamping the bench, and Indiana responded with a 33-7 start — the best in the NBA. But after signing Andrew Bynum in February and trading Danny Granger for Evan Turner at the trade deadline, the Pacers went into a confounding second-half swoon in which they looked disengaged and disinterested. Two-time All-Star Paul George acknowledged Friday that the Pacers seemed to hit a wall, thinking they could turn it on whenever they needed it. Somehow, they still managed to finish with the best record in the East, rallied to win the final two games against eighth-seeded Atlanta after twice giving away home-court advantage and rallied again against a young Washington team after giving away home-court advantage in Game 1. When they did it again by failing to close out the Heat at home in Game 2, Miami responded by winning all three of its home games decisively to clinch the series. "You know at times it feels like were there, and then theres games where it still feels like were not at that point yet," George said when asked if he thought the Pacers had closed the gap on Miami. "Coach says it, I mean, in order for us to beat this team, weve got to play like champions. More times than not, we didnt do so." Most of the problems were self-inflicted. Indiana struggled with infighting, prolonged slumps, unseemly rumours and constant criticism. Hibbert epitomized much of it. In late March, he complained about "selfish dudes" in the locker room, a barb directed at Stephenson, later apologized and was so bad, at times, in the playoffs that fans and analysts called for his benching. And its unclear what the Pacers will do after a second straight blowout in an elimination game at Miami. Bird acknowledged the Pacers were going "all in" this season when they re-signed David West, gave George a max deal and traded away their first-round pick to get Luis Scola from Phoenix. Stephenson could be the next Pacers player to strike it rich. But after calling out LeBron James publicly before Game 4, blowing in his ear in Game 5 and tapping James on his chin early in Game 6, some wonder if the Pacers even want Stephenson back. It all depends on whether Bird thinks Stephenson can help beat the Heat. "I dont know what the future holds for us," West said. "Obviously, everything starts and ends with the Miami Heat. You have to have a team that can get through a tough regular season but ultimately, you have to be able to beat Miami to get to the finals." Ryne Sandberg Jersey . The Flames are in the midst of a six-game slide (0-5-1), their longest losing streak since an 0-6-3 skid from Jan. 11-28, 2010. They havent won since Nov. 3 in Chicago and most recently went winless on a three-game homestand. Ernie Banks Jersey . -- When Steve Blake checked in at the scorers table with 5:25 remaining in the third quarter, Stephen Curry shook his head and shouted across the court, asking Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson not to take him out. http://www.cubsauthentic.com/cubs-kosuke-fukudome-jersey/ . Speaking with TSN 1050 following Brendan Shanahans introductory press conference, the Leafs GM also addressed the clubs perceived leadership issues and the type of working relationship that can be expected within Torontos front office. David Ross Jersey . Bale has had a successful debut season in Spain, and Ancelotti appears ready to reward him with a starting role on Saturday. Ancelotti says "Gareth had some problems at the beginning (of the season) but when he found good physical condition he scored a lot of goals, he had a good impact on the team. Jason Heyward Jersey . The R&A announced Monday that golfs oldest championship will return to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland for the first time since Max Faulkner won in 1951.BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox werent getting much done this season. Thats why the defending World Series champions turned to their youth. With five rookies in the starting lineup, the last-place Red Sox chased Chicago ace Chris Sale and rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the White Sox 5-4 on Wednesday night. The victory snapped Bostons four-game losing streak. "Once we got Sale out of the game, then we were able to create opportunities," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "Tip your hat to a very, very good pitcher. But we didnt roll over by any means." Sale had allowed just four hits when he left the game with two outs in the eighth inning and a 4-0 lead. But Jake Petricka faced four batters and couldnt get an out, and by the time Javy Guerra (0-1) retired Mike Carp to end the eighth it was 4-3. With one out in the ninth, Guerra hit Mookie Betts -- who was playing his sixth major league game -- and then gave up a double to pinch-hitter Daniel Nava. Brock Holt, another rookie, singled for the first walk-off hit of his career. The win was just the second for Boston in its last nine games. "We were able to finish it off, which is something we havent been able to do recently," Holt said. "So its a good feeling." Sale is in contention for the last spot on the AL All-Star team, a fan vote that will be announced Thursday. An All-Star the last two seasons, the left-hander walked none and struck out six before his bullpen cost him a chance to improve to 9-1. "Put that all on me. Ive got to go in there and shut the door," Guerra said. "He deserves a win every time he throws the ball that way. The guys special. He deserves a win." Koji Uehara (5-2), who was added to the AL All-Star team earlier Wednesday, earned the win. Jose Abreu and Conor Gillaspie homered to help stake Chicago, which had won three straight, to a 4-0 lead. Sale did not allow a runner to reach third base until the eighth, when Betts led off with an odd double -- he beat out an infield single and took second when he noticed no one was covering -- then moved up on a groundout.dddddddddddd After getting Holt to ground out, Sale was replaced by Petricka and the Red Sox saw their chance. "Hes one of the best pitchers in the game," Nava said. "Whether hes an All-Star or not, hes an All-Star-caliber pitcher." Abreu hit a solo homer to deep centre field in the first inning, his 28th of the season. Only Mark McGwire, who had 33 homers at the 1987 All-Star break, hit more in the first half of his rookie season. Gillaspie added a solo shot in the second, and the White Sox made it 3-0 when he doubled and scored in the fourth. Tyler Flowers and Adam Eaton had consecutive doubles in the seventh to make it 4-0. It stayed that way until White Sox manager Robin Ventura pulled Sale with two outs in the eighth, and Petricka couldnt get an out. The Red Sox had a few good plays in the field, though, thanks largely to their young players. It was the earliest in the season the Red Sox have started five rookies in a game since 1952. Rookie centre fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. made a diving catch of Flowers line drive in the second. In the seventh, Eaton doubled off the Green Monster, with the ball coming down off left fielder Jonny Gomes nose. Gomes retrieved it and made a throw that was relayed by rookie third baseman Xander Bogaerts to catcher Christian Vazquez, who was making his major-league debut. Gomes spent the rest of the half-inning plugging his nose with his undershirt, apparently to keep it from bleeding, but remained in the game. NOTES: Vazquez was called up to replace C A.J. Pierzynski, who was designated for assignment. ... Sale would be the first White Sox pitcher to make three straight All-Star teams since Jack McDowell in 1991-93. ... Uehara was named to the All-Star team as a replacement for Yankees starter Masihiro Tanaka, who was placed on the DL on Wednesday.... Rubby De La Rosa, who was recalled from Triple-A earlier Wednesday, gave up three runs and six hits, striking out three in five innings. 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