Bulls Sneak Past Heat Late
The Chicago Bulls faced the Miami Heat Thursday. Last time Joakim Noah and LeBron James sat out and the Bulls suffered a loss. This time, both key players were on the court and the outcome was different.
Derrick Rose scored 26 points and Luol Deng added 20, including the tiebreaking 3-pointer, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Miami Heat 93-89 on Thursday night in a wild showdown between two of the Eastern Conference's top teams.
In a game that could have playoff seeding implications, the Bulls used a big third quarter to turn a nine-point halftime deficit into a 71-67 advantage, then watched a nine-point lead in the fourth evaporate into a four-point hole before pulling it out.
Deng's 3-pointer with 16 seconds left broke an 89-all tie and sent Chicago to its 16th win in 21 games.
Dwyane Wade scored 34 points and LeBron James added 29 for Miami, which got outrebounded 53-39 while losing for only the second time in 13 games. Both losses have come against teams also vying for the East's top seed - Boston beat them on Feb. 13, and the Bulls now own the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Bulls beat Miami by three at the United Center last month, and this one was every bit as dramatic.
Rose and Deng led the charge in the third with 12 and 10 points, respectively, as Chicago outscored Miami 27-14, and the Bulls continued to pour it on early in the fourth.
The crowd was really rocking when Ronnie Brewer nailed a jumper to make it 80-71 with 8:26 left, but the Heat weren't finished.
They answered by reeling off 13 straight points, with Mario Chalmers nailing a 3 and James hitting two free throws to put Miami ahead 84-80 with 4:52 remaining.
Chicago's Kyle Korver nailed a 3-pointer from the right side at the shot-clock buzzer to make it a one-point game, and Rose's drive along the right side put the Bulls back on top with 85-84 with 2:48 remaining. Deng then nailed a jumper from up top, and when Rose buried one right in front of the Heat bench to make it 89-84 with 1:06 left, the crowd just about came unglued.
Wade answered with a fadeaway jumper and James tied it at 89 on a three-point play with 36.8 seconds remaining. With James guarding him after a timeout, Rose then drove and kicked out to Deng in the left corner for the go-ahead 3 with 16 seconds remaining.
James then threw up a wild 3 from the top of the key with Deng closing in, the ball hitting all glass. Korver then got fouled and missed the first free throw before hitting the second to make it 93-89 with 9.4 seconds left.
The wild game came after a rather uneventful afternoon.
While the Eastern Conference saw some big moves leading up to Thursday's deadline, with Carmelo Anthony going to New York, Deron Williams heading to New Jersey and Boston sending Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma, the Heat and Bulls stood pat.
Chicago simply did not want to part with backup big men Omer Asik and Taj Gibson to get a shooting guard like Courtney Lee or Anthony Parker, and although general manager Gar Forman said there were "some serious, serious conversations," they never "got to the 5- or 10-yard line."
"At the end of the day, in certain situations, we thought it was too rich to get marginally better," he said.
Notes: James didn't seem too offended that Bosh and Juwan Howard backed Rose for MVP. "The award isn't named after myself," the two-time reigning MVP said. He added, "D-Rose is having an unbelievable season. He's doing everything and more to help his team." Howard endorsed Rose for MVP during an interview on Chicago's ESPN1000 on Wednesday, and Bosh did the same at the morning shootaround, saying "Looking at their record and how improved they are as a team and how much improved he is as a player, I think it's close. But I think I would give it to Derrick if I were a voter. For what it's worth, Wade endorsed James, saying, "I'm going to be biased and choose my teammate." ... Miami's Mike Miller stayed home with an ear infection. ... Team mascot Benny the Bull and ambassador Scottie Pippen presented Chicago mayor-elect and former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel with a jersey and posed for a picture at midcourt during a timeout midway through the first quarter. ... Kanye West was also in the crowd. ... The Bulls and Heat play one more time a week from Sunday in Miami.
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