Fast-finishing Heat bury Bulls

Updated May 27, 2011 14:16:00

Miami's star players cast off their struggles and staged a furious finish to beat the Bulls 83-80 in Chicago and advance to the NBA Finals series.

The soaring comeback from a 77-65 deficit in the last three minutes propelled the Heat to the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, a repeat of the 2006 championship series which Miami won 4-2.

Led by their Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Miami went on a closing 18-3 run to stun the Bulls and complete a 4-1 triumph in the best-of-seven series for the Eastern Conference title.

James, who missed nine shots in a row before catching fire at the end, led the Heat with 28 points as Miami swept the last four games after dropping the opener in Chicago.

Wade, who committed nine turnovers, contributed 21 points including a key four-point play, and Bosh scored 20, supplying some cushion with the last two free-throw points.

League MVP Derrick Rose topped Chicago with 25 points, but his desperate three-point heave as time expired was blocked by James.

"Defence. Staying together," was James' take on how the Heat overtook the Bulls.

"[We] just buckled down defensively and executed."

The Bulls contributed to their own demise by unraveling in the closing minutes.

They turned the ball over, failed to get off decent shots and allowed Miami a four-point play when Rose fouled Wade as he sank a three-point bucket.

"We've had several of these games in the Playoffs and the regular season where we've finished off with our defense on 12-0, 14-0 runs," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

"We've been through a lot together. We've been through the fire together."

After James, Wade and Bosh joined forces in Miami by deciding to sign as free agents with the Heat, they became a love-or-hate team in the NBA, even as they went through growing pains in learning how to play together.

They showed they had come of age by charging past the young Bulls, who had beaten them in all three regular season meetings and who had never lost more than two in a row this season.

"It's disappointing," Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said.

"We came up short at the end. We have to learn from it.

"They have the ability to make tough shots and they're hard to guard. We didn't make shots down the stretch."

The game was a tight defensive struggle similar to the previous four contests with Chicago leading by four after the first quarter, by seven at the half and by five heading into the fourth.

The Bulls, getting a boost from bench players Kurt Thomas and Ronnie Brewer, charged to 12-point lead and looked like they were sending the series back to Miami for a Game Six.

Then the tide turned.

Wade scored two baskets and James sank a three-pointer to end his nine-shot drought and the lead was cut to 77-72.

Wade, who was MVP of Miami's last title run in 2006, canned a three-pointer and was fouled by Rose. The free throw completed a four-point play that made it 79-76.

James drained another three to tie it at 79-79. His step-back jumper amazingly put Miami in the lead with a minute left.

Rose was fouled on a drive to the hoop and missed one of his two free throws to make the score 81-80, before Bosh sank two for the final margin.

The big-game finish by James and Wade, who had proclaimed they were joining forces to win championships, drew grudging respect from the Bulls.

"Give credit where credit is due," Chicago centre Joakim Noah said.

"They're Hollywood as hell, but they're still a hell of a team."

Miami has home-court advantage in the finals and will host Game One at the American Airlines Arena on Wednesday (AEST).

-Reuters

Tags: sport, basketball, united-states

First posted May 27, 2011 13:43:00

View the original article here

Heat one win from eliminating Bulls

Updated May 25, 2011 14:45:00

The Miami Heat beat the Chicago Bulls 101-93 in overtime to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals and move one win away from a place in the NBA Finals.

The best-of-seven series moves to Chicago for Game Five on Friday morning (AEST) for what promises to be another bruising but entertaining encounter in what has been a thrilling series.

A compelling and physical game finished 85-85 in regulation after league MVP Derrick Rose missed two late opportunities including a potential game-winner for the Bulls with the final play.

Rose had the game in his hand after an offensive foul was called on Miami's LeBron James with eight seconds left - but he was unable to find the basket.

"Tonight was definitely on me. I had two opportunities to end the game. I couldn't do it...it really was my fault but I am going to learn from it," said Rose, who made 23 points but gave up seven turnovers.

"It is not over yet - we still have games to play, we are going home, we have to be positive and they are beatable."

The MVP's game was made more difficult by James opting to mark him in the crucial latter stages and overtime, with the attention making Rose's final shot in regulation so difficult.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau was quick to give his backing to the 22-year-old Rose.

"He missed but I wouldn't want to have any other player, he is a great player and a great competitor and I have great belief in him," he said.

The Heat, with James (35 points) taking charge on both sides of the ball, dominated in overtime and extended their post-season home record to 8-0.

The loss was the first time this season the Bulls have lost three successive games.

Dwyane Wade had a quieter than normal game for Miami until overtime when he suddenly found the touch and rhythm that had been absent.

He produced a crucial jump shot to make it 91-88 and then made a driving lay-up on a turnover to extend the lead to six points before making a key block.

"The most important thing is that he was able to make game-winning plays at the end. It took great mental fortitude for Dwyane to leave the rest of his frustrations behind and find a way to help us win," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

While the focus was inevitably on the final stages of the game, the encounter had ebbed and flowed from the outset with both teams enjoying spells of dominance where they showed their strengths.

The Bulls led by 11 points in the first quarter but then James led a 14-0 run from Heat that got them back into game.

Chicago responded though with Rose making two sensational dunks as the Bulls fought their way to lead 46-44 at half-time, which they continued in the third to take 68-63 lead before the dramatic fourth unfolded.

- Reuters

Tags: sport, basketball, united-states

First posted May 25, 2011 14:08:00

View the original article here

Bulls' Noah fined for gay slur

Posted May 24, 2011 10:03:00

Chicago Bulls centre Joakim Noah has been fined $US50,000 for yelling an insulting remark, believed to be a gay slur, at a spectator in Miami during his team's recent NBA Playoff loss.

Television cameras showed Noah appearing to say "faggot" after sitting down on the bench early in the opening quarter of Miami's 96-85 triumph, which gave the Heat a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference best-of-seven final.

"I apologise," Noah said.

"The fan said something to me that I thought was disrespectful and I got caught up in the moment and I said some things that I shouldn't have said.

"I was frustrated and I don't mean no disrespect to anybody. I just got caught up."

The fine imposed by the NBA was half the amount handed to Los Angeles Lakers playmaker Kobe Bryant last month by the league for saying the same thing to referee Ben Adams during a game.

A league spokesman said the higher amount of Bryant's fine came because he was verbally abusive to an NBA game official.

Noah met with NBA officials before he was fined for his remark to the taunting Heat supporter.

"I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings," he said.

"Anybody who knows me knows that I'm not like that. I'm an open-minded guy.

"I said the wrong thing and I'm going to pay the consequences - deal with the consequences - like a man.

"I don't want to be a distraction to the team right now."

Noah also said he would learn from his mistakes and his frustration did not excuse his remark.

"I'll remember," Noah said.

"I'll remember it for a long time."

Bulls forward Luol Deng of Great Britain supported Noah, saying the fan made his own disrespectful comments to the Bulls' bench.

"It wasn't just one time or two times," Deng said.

"He just kept going and it became really annoying. (Noah) just lost his temper."

NBA commissioner David Stern said last month that "such a distasteful term should never be tolerated" and added "insensitive or derogatory comments are not acceptable and have no place in our game or society".

-AFP

Tags: sport, basketball, united-states

View the original article here

Fired-up Bosh torches Bulls

Updated May 23, 2011 15:35:00

Chris Bosh discarded his 'third man' label to shoot 34 points and lead Miami to a 96-85 win over the Chicago Bulls, giving the Heat a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Bulls paid too much attention to the Heat's usual threats - Dwyane Wade and LeBron James - and that allowed more opportunities for Bosh.

The pick and roll between Bosh and Wade was particularly effective for Miami but the difference between previous wins in the Playoffs and this victory was the amount of times Bosh was given looks.

Miami, now 7-0 at home in this year's Playoffs, were on top from the outset and Bosh, after missing his first three shots, was their key man.

"Bosh was terrific from the start of the game, very aggressive and I thought that we allowed him to get his confidence early," Bulls coach Tim Thibodeau said.

"He is hard to slow down once he gets going like that.

"We gave him too much space, we didn't challenge his shot properly. He had a big night."

With strong defense and Bosh's shooting, Miami never looked in any real danger and led 43-40 at half-time with the Bulls' Derrick Rose failing to make a single assist in the opening two quarters.

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra was delighted with Bosh.

"We run a lot of our offense through him regardless of whether he's getting shots or not," Spoelstra said.

"Tonight dictated something else. We needed him to be aggressive. Easy shots and opportunities in this series are hard to come by.

"He was able to take the pressure off the other guys, to get some baskets, which helped."

James managed 22 points for Miami while Carlos Boozer top-scored for Chicago with 26, but the Bulls will have to show significant improvement if they are to avoid going 3-1 down in Tuesday's fourth meeting of the seven-game series.

The Bulls have not lost two games in a row since February but the Heat defense locked them up again.

Rose, who scored 20 points in the game, had just two field goal attempts in the fourth quarter.

"We have got to get up and challenge their shots better. We have to finish our defense," Thibodeau said.

The game was tighter though than the scoreline suggests as Miami only broke clear in the latter stages with a 9-0 run including a decisive three-point play from James on a turnover.

"There is absolutely nothing easy in this series and it is all about enduring, sustaining and finding a way to grind it out," Spoelstra said.

"It is a battle, a scrap, a fight every possession.

"The guys did a good job of that and particularly to find a way to break it open in the last five."

-Reuters

Tags: sport, basketball, united-states

First posted May 23, 2011 15:17:00

View the original article here

Bulls stifle Heat in opening win

Posted May 16, 2011 15:18:00

The Bulls' defence contained LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to set-up an easy 103-82 victory over Miami Heat in the opening game of their Eastern Conference Finals series in Chicago.

Chicago's Derrick Rose, the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP), scored 28 points but it was the Bulls' defence that really stood up, limiting Wade to 18 points and James to 15.

The third member of Miami's 'Big Three', Chris Bosh, managed a play-off high 30 points but the Heat will have to find a way to improve their offence before Game Two of their best-of-seven series in Chicago on Wednesday (local time).

For the Bulls, their triumph was a continuation of their regular season domination over Miami when they won all three match-ups.

But despite their track record and status as the top seed in the Eastern Conference, Chicago found itself viewed as the underdog against Miami heading into the series.

"There are a lot of opinions out there, but we're not getting caught in that," said Bulls forward Luol Deng, after finishing with 21 points and playing suffocating defence against James.

"We've won 62 games. We know we're a good team. In order to win you have to think you're the best."

The Bulls were clearly at their best during a dominant second half where they outscored the Heat 55-34.

They seized momentum in the third period where they used a 10-0 spurt to turn a one-point deficit into a 67-58 advantage, then let loose in the fourth with three-pointers and vicious dunks as their home fans celebrated the rout.

After overcoming the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics in the second round series, Miami found a much different challenge in Chicago.

The Heat were pounded inside where the Bulls tallied 31 second-chance points to just eight for Miami.

"That will wear any team down," said James, who made just five of 15 shots.

"You play defence hard, then they get an offensive rebound and kick it out for a lay-up or a dunk, those are demoralising for a defence. We have to figure out a way to clean that up."

- Reuters

Tags: sport, basketball, united-states

View the original article here

Bulls march on in NBA play-offs

Updated May 13, 2011 14:31:00

Chicago Bulls advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1998 with a series-clinching 93-73 win away to Atlanta Hawks.

Displaying the kind of offensive and defensive balance that earned them the best regular-season record, the Bulls brushed past the Hawks to close out the best-of-seven series 4-2.

Chicago will now face the surging Miami Heat for a place in the NBA Finals.

League MVP Derrick Rose delivered one of his most efficient performances of the post-season, finishing with 19 points and 12 assists while taking just 14 shots - well below his series average of more than 27 attempts per game.

Rose's team-mates carried more of the load with Carlos Boozer tallying 23 points and 10 rebounds.

The Hawks were blitzed from the start, trailing by 10 after the first and second quarters, before falling behind by 17 after three.

Joe Johnson scored a team-high 19 points and Josh Smith added 18 for the Hawks.

- Reuters

Tags: sport, basketball, united-states

First posted May 13, 2011 14:05:00

View the original article here