Heat center Chris Andersen, sidelined the past two games, said Thursday that his thigh bruise has improved but remained noncommittal about whether he will be able to play in Game 6 on Friday night.
“I’m not limping anymore,” he said.
He added that he doesn’t feel much discomfort and regardless, “I’ve got a high tolerance for pain.”
Andersen was limited in practice Thursday and called himself a game-time decision.
Players defended by Andersen are shooting just 31.5 percent against him in this postseason, by far the lowest (or best) of any Heat frontcourt player, according to synergysports.com.
PLAYERS FINED
The NBA fined Pacers guard Lance Stephenson $10,000 and center Roy Hibbert $5,000 for flopping during Game 5. Stephenson’s fine was larger because he was penalized $5,000 for flopping earlier in the series.
Indiana forward Paul George was fined $25,000 for criticizing the officiating after Game 4.
• The fact that the Heat practiced Thursday after a road game the night before was highly unusual.
“Everybody’s a little ornery,” Chris Bosh said. “Everybody got in late. The ideal situation, we stay in bed all day.”
• Even though most of the five fouls against LeBron James in Game 5 were hardly egregious, James and other Heat people did not publicly question the officiating, choosing to avoid a fine.
Among those rising to James’ defense: ESPN’s Bill Simmons, who said superstars should be afforded more respect and shouldn’t be called for the type of ticky-tack fouls that James was whistled for.
Conversely, the Heat’s eight free-throw attempts tied for the fewest in a playoff game by any team since Miami shot eight against Chicago in a first-round game in 2006.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra attributed that to the Pacers’ defense.
“We have to be committed to get our attacks,” he said.
• More evidence of how things can change from the regular season: Hibbert, who shot 2 for 10 against Udonis Haslem in the regular season, is 8 for 15 when Haslem is in the game in this series but 13 for 35 when Haslem is out of the game.
Hibbert is a plus-28 with Haslem in the game and a minus-41 with Haslem on the bench.
• The Heat, which has the 26th and 55th picks in the June 26 draft, on Thursday reportedly worked out forwards Casey Prather (Florida) and Khem Birch (UNLV), and guards Jordan Adams (UCLA), Jordan Clarkson (Missouri) and Bryce Cotton (Providence).
BY THE NUMBERS
• Bosh’s 21 shots were his most in a playoff game since joining the Heat. Before Game 5, the Heat was 10-0 all-time when Bosh took at least 20 shots in any game.
• James’ teams in Miami and Cleveland are 0-9 in playoff games when he scores fewer than 15 points. … The Heat went 15 for 31 on three-pointers, only the fourth time in NBA playoff history that a team lost a game after making at least 15 threes.
• According to Nielsen Media, 24.6 percent of Dade/Broward homes with TV sets watched the game — the highest Heat rating of the postseason. The rating peaked at a 31.3 during the game’s final minutes.
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