NBA: Heat survive Bulls rally, advance to East Finals

The Miami Heat lost an 18-point lead, but came storming back against the Chicago Bulls, holding them off late to eke out a 94-91 win, and more importantly, punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals, after a 4-1 semis series triumph, Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time) at the American Airlines Center in Miami, Florida.

The Bulls actually snatched game one on the road, winning 93-86. It was all Heat however afterwards, 115-78, 104-94, 88-65, before claiming the clincher in front of their home fans.

Miami began with a dominant 18-2 lead, as the Bulls missed five of their first six shots and turned the ball over twice in the initial five minutes. A Chris Bosh jumper extended their lead to 18, 22-4, but Carlos Boozer began muscling his way down low, and combined with a triple from Nate Robinson, the duo halved their deficit at the end of the initial 12 minutes, 30-21.

Chicago waxed hot in the second period, turning the tables on their foes with a 17-6 run that saw them take their first lead of the game on a Jimmy Butler triple, 38-36, 4:46 left in the first half. Two more triples by Robinson kept the comeback intact at the break, arming his side with a 53-47 advantage going into halftime.

All-in-all, Chicago shot nearly 50 percent from the field in the second, including a 4-of-5 clip from downtown, with Robinson accounting for 11 of his team's 32 in the quarter.

The visiting side stayed on top throughout the third period, with two free throws from Robinson giving his team a 75-64 advantage, their biggest of the game, 1:50 left in the third. Ray Allen and Chris Andersen conspired to get the Heat's deficit under double-figures though, as a triple from the veteran marksman, combined with a find to Andersen, made it 77-69 with one more canto remaining.

Miami's reservers continued to make the difference in the final period. Two treys from Shane Battier, plus an alley-oop dunk by Andersen got the Heat within two, 81-79. After a LeBron James free throw, a Norris Cole jumper swung things back in favor of the home team, 82-81, 6:48 still to play.

Veteran Richard Hamilton got the lead back with a jumper, but a dunk by Cole forced a timeout from Chicago, 5:40 left. The quick break didn't seem to do them any favors however, as the Bulls conceded a 9-0 run, for a 93-86 Heat lead, 3:02 left.

A lay-up by Carlos Boozer and yet another Robinson trey sandwiched a split at the line by James, 94-91, 1:43 on the clock. Boozer came up with a steal on the other end, off Chris Bosh, but he couldn't capitalize, missing a jumper.

The Heat tried to put the game away, but Battier and James both also failed to connect. With under 24 seconds left, Nate Robinson's triple to tie the game was offline. Boozer snatched the offensive rebound, and the Bulls worked the ball to Butler, but his three-pointer was also no good, handing the Heat the win.


LeBron James paved the way for the Heat with 23 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Dwyane Wade shrugged off a short trip to the locker room to finish with 18 points, five rebounds, six assists and two swipes, while Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem shook off foul trouble to combine for 22 markers, nine boards and three rejections.

Carlos Boozer tried to force a sixth game, producing a double-double of 26 points and 14 rebounds. Nate Robinson added 21 points, five rebounds and six dimes, while Jimmy Butler and Richard Hamilton had 19 and 15 markers, respectively.

Chicago lost without the services of Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich and former MVP Derrick Rose.

Miami held the Bulls down to 33.3 percent shooting in the fourth period, 16.7 percent (1-of-6) from downtown. On the other end of the court, the reigning NBA champs shot 50 percent and got an 11-2 difference in free throw attempts.

Overall, the Bulls lost despite a 40-32 edge in rebounding, 15-6 on the offensive glass. Miami did have more assists, 20-14, and an overall 33-24 edge in trips to the line. - AMD, GMA News