Behind another ho-hum, unclutch game from LeBron James (30/10/8) the Miami Heat took a 3-2 series lead over the Pacers last night with a 32 point victory.

Of course, the story after the game was not LeBron’s performance, because he played well. No the story was instead about a series of hard fouls that eventually became cheap shots.

Early in the second quarter, Pacers Forward Tyler Hansborough (a man so renowned for his calm demeanor that his nickname is Psycho T) committed a hard foul on Dwyane Wade, who, in Dwyane Wade fashion, reacted as though he had been shot in the face from close range. Hansborough did draw blood on the Heat star, but his intention seemed to clearly be to prevent Wade from scoring.

A minute later, Heat Forward Udonis Haslem committed a foul on Hansborough that seemed more like a revenge shot than a means to prevent a basket. Primarily because Tyler Hansborough isn’t generally regarded as a deft slasher.

Not satisfied, Heat “player” Dexter Pittman decided to continue to enact revenge against the Pacers. With the game long-since decided, Pittman threw a vicious elbow into the throat of Pacers “player” Lance Stephenson, who earlier in the series had made a choking gesture to LeBron James (albeit while wearing warm-ups and earning a DNP-Coach’s Decision).

Haslem and Pittman will likely be suspended later today. Time will tell if the Heat can survive without Pittman’s “contributions.”

It took overtime (and nearly all of it), but the LA Kings were able to close out their Western Conference Finals series with the Phoenix Coyotes last night with a 4-3 victory. Dustin Penner scored the game-winner late in the first overtime period to send the Kings to their first Stanley Cup Final in nearly 20 years.

They await the winner of the New York Rangers/New Jersey Devils seriesssszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Baseball’s top 5 payrolls and those team’s current placement in their divisional standings:

1.) New York Yankees (4^th AL East)

2.) Philadelphia Phillies (5^th NL East)

3.) Boston Red Sox (5^th AL East)

4.) Los Angeles Angels (4^th AL West)

5.) Detroit Tigers (3^rd AL Central)

Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians, and Baltimore Orioles find themselves in first place.

The Bulletin took some flak yesterday from some overzealous readers because it called Monday night’s Phillies/Nats game a “must-win” for Washington. The Bulletin stands by this statement. Games in May count just the same as games in September. When you’re playing your rival, on the road, and you have to face two all-stars later in the series, it is vital that you take the winnable game. No team wants to go into a game against Roy Halladay after losing the previous day to Kyle Kendrick.

Last year on May 22, the Atlanta Braves sent Derek Lowe to the mound to oppose (then) Angels pitcher Tyler Chatwood. The Braves lost that game. Had they won a very winnable game in May, they would have made the playoffs and the St. Louis Cardinals never would have won the World Series. Games in May are important. Winnable games (on paper) in May are very important. You can’t afford to leave Ws on the field. Curly or otherwise.

The Celtics will look to close out the 76ers tonight (8:00 p.m./ESPN) and the Rangers and Devils will play a pivotal Game 5 in New York (8 p.m./NBCSN), but the game of the day will come in Philadelphia as Cole Hamels will take the hill and face Bryce Harper and the Washington Nationals in front of a national TV audience. It’ll be Old School vs. New School at the CBP tonight. Game time is 7:05. If you’re in DC, you can find it on MASN. If you’re elsewhere, tune into ESPN2, as the Nats will look to complete their first series sweep of 2012.