Miami Heat Blog – Page 119 – NBA Blog

James, Wade lead wild comeback as Heat eliminate Bulls

The AP reports:

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh joined to win a championship. Well, now they have their shot.

James scored 28 points, Wade added 21, and they led a furious rally in the final minutes as the Miami Heat eliminated Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls 83-80 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday.

James and Wade were simply spectacular down the stretch, each scoring eight during a game-ending 18-3 run as Miami wiped out a 12-point deficit to win the series.

Now, the Heat are headed back to the NBA finals for the first time since 2006, and in a fitting twist, they’ll be facing the Mavericks. Back then, with Wade leading the way, Miami beat Dallas to capture the championship. This time, it’ll be James and Dirk Nowitzki going for their first rings.

The Heat will host Game 1 on Tuesday night…

Rose led Chicago with 25 points but hit just 9 of 29 shots. He fouled Wade on a key four-point play and missed a tying free throw with 26.7 seconds left.

James had 11 rebounds and six assists. Wade’s late surge helped negate his nine turnovers. Bosh added 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Heat pulled out a dramatic win.

Reuters reports:

Miami went on an 18-3 run to the buzzer to stun the Bulls and complete a 4-1 triumph in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals…

“Defense. Staying together,” James told a courtside reporter about how the Heat overcame a 77-65 deficit in the final three minutes. “Just buckled down defensively and executed.”

Heat-Mavericks 2011 NBA Finals Schedule

The 2011 NBA Finals will feature the Miami Heat vs the Dallas Mavericks.

In the Western Conference Finals, the Mavs eliminated the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games.

And tonight, the Heat eliminated the Chicago Bulls, also in five games.

Here’s the 2011 NBA Finals schedule:

Game 1 – Tue May 31 Dallas at Miami 9:00PM ABC/R/3D/TSN
Game 2 – Thu June 2 Dallas at Miami 9:00PM ABC/R/3D/TSN
Game 3 – Sun June 5 Miami at Dallas 8:00PM ABC/R/3D/TSN http://www.insidehoops.com
Game 4 – Tue June 7 Miami at Dallas 9:00PM ABC/R/3D/TSN
Game 5 * Thu June 9 Miami at Dallas 9:00PM ABC/R/3D/TSN
Game 6 * Sun June 12 Dallas at Miami 8:00PM ABC/R/3D/TSN
Game 7 * Tue June 14 Dallas at Miami 9:00PM ABC/R/3D/TSN

James, Bosh and Wade carry Heat over Bulls 101-93 in Game 4

The Miami Heat now lead the Chicago Bulls 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Here’s what went down in Game 4 Monday in Miami:

The AP reports:

LeBron James scored 35 points, Chris Bosh added 22 and Dwyane Wade perked up to block as many shots—two—as Chicago made in overtime, as the Heat topped the Bulls 101-93 in a scintillating Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the series…

Derrick Rose scored 23 points for the Bulls, who got 20 apiece from Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer. Chicago has lost three straight games for the first time this season, and afterward, the league’s reigning MVP pointed the finger of blame at himself.

“It’s not over,” said Rose, who shot 8 of 27 and turned the ball over seven times…

Somehow, it wasn’t a problem. A sleep-deprived Mike Miller—whose wife delivered a baby last week—scored 12 points and made plenty of key defensive plays to help Miami outscore Chicago by a whopping 36 points with him on the floor. Udonis Haslem missed all five of his shots, and he was still a plus-25 in his 33 minutes off the bench…

James was 11 for 26 from the field and 13 for 13—his best playoff showing ever—from the foul line. Bosh was aggressive again, making 10 of his 11 free throws. Miami made its last 24 straight from the stripe, and the defense was again the biggest key of all…

Wade made just 5 of 16 shots from the field, lacking his usual lift at the rim. He made a pair of free throws with 1:50 left in the first half for his seventh and eighth points, and didn’t score again until overtime…

Chicago’s lead was 46-44 at halftime, after some wild emotional swings—a 19-4 run by the Bulls, followed by a 29-9 spurt for the Heat, then capped by an 18-7 rebuttal by the Bulls to close the second quarter.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports:

“This series is an absolute bloodbath,” coach Erik Spoelstra said when the three-hour marathon was over, “and that game tonight was a total grind. It is very challenging for either team to get into any kind of fluid offensive flow. It is about as competitive and physical as it could be.”

With Miller scoring 12 points on a night Wade was limited to 14 on 5-of-16 shooting, the Heat rode the 35 points of James and 22 more from forward Chris Bosh to a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals, with the best-of-seven series continuing Thursday at the United Center.

“If you’re a fan of the game,” Wade said, “this is a great basketball game. This is will, and both teams showed that. We made the plays at the end to eventually pull away.”

The Heat closed out the game by converting their final 24 free throws.

“It was about enduring and stay with it mentally and physically,” Spoelstra said.

The Miami Herald reports:

The Heat won despite shooting 40.3 percent in regulation. Miami made five of eight shots in overtime. James led the Heat with 35 points on 11-of-26 shooting. He was also 11 of 11 at the free-throw line and had half the Heat’s 12 assists.

Bosh finished with 22 points on 6-of-12 shooing. He and James both had six rebounds. Wade had 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting to go along with five rebounds.

The Heat made its final 24 free throws of the game and was 32 of 38 overall. Chicago was 17 of 22 from the free-throw line.

Defensively, Heat center Joel Anthony had five rebounds and four blocks. Mike Miller had 12 points off the bench for the Heat and Mario Chalmers had nine.

MVP Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 23 points but, closely defended by James, missed his chance to win the game at the end of the fourth quarter. Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer had 20 points each.So close for Chicago. As with any game that goes overtime, this easily could have gone the other way.

This is a great series for anyone who enjoys watching great defense. For a good time, watch the help defenders on every possession.

Live fan discussion of the game took place in this forum topic.

NBA fines Joakim Noah $50,000 for foul language

Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah has been fined $50,000 for using a derogatory and offensive term from the bench during the first quarter of the Bulls’ 96-85 loss to the Miami Heat last night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Recently, Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 for saying almost the same thing, though in Bryant’s case it was directed at an NBA referee, while Noah was engaged in heated discussion with a fan sitting near Chicago’s bench.

Fan reaction and discussion of the entire issue is in this forum topic.

Bulls center Omer Asik day-to-day with muscle strain in leg

The Miami Heat lead the Chicago Bulls 2-1 in their Eastern Conference Finals series. And as Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago reports:

Chicago Bulls center Omer Asik is day to day with a muscle strain in his left leg. He suffered the injury in the third quarter of Game 3 Sunday night and did not return. “We’re hopeful,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said after his team’s Monday afternoon film session. “I talked to [athletic trainer] Fred [Tedsechi] earlier and he said he’s day to day. He’ll get treatment [Tuesday]. Fred will take him onto the court to see if he’s having any problems and hopefully he’ll be ready to go.”

Asik is averaging 14.3 minutes per game for the Bulls in the Conference Finals. He mostly acts as a big body, taking up space, defending and boxing out.

Joel Anthony makes Game 3 a block party

Miami Heat center Joel Anthony has emerged over time from a player lucky to be on a roster to a nice defender clearly worthy of at least coming off the bench and being in a squad’s rotation. And he was a defensive force early in Sunday’s Game 3, which the Heat won as they took a 2-1 series lead over the Chicago Bulls.

David J. Neal of the Miami Herald reports:

Joel Anthony’s four first-quarter blocks accounted for 36.6 percent of Chicago’s 11 first-quarter misses, helped keep Bulls power forward Carlos Boozer scoreless and the Bulls with a meager 15 points on 25 percent shooting while the Heat overcame their own offensive troubles. And even as Boozer got going in the second quarter with nine points, the Bulls began changing angles mid-shot, in anticipation of Anthony.

All of Anthony’s five blocked shots came in the first half, during which the Bulls shot 16 of 40 and shot only nine free throws. That’s five blocks in one half after 20 in the Heat’s first 12 playoff games.

There’s no official category for Shots Turned Bricks Off Of Intimidation, of which Anthony had several in his 29:03 of playing time, all of which were in the first three quarters.

Anthony is a limited player, but he’s still been the best of Miami’s crop of centers.

Bosh scores 34, Heat beat Bulls 96-85 in Game 3 victory

The AP reports:

Chris Bosh made 13 of his final 15 shots on the way to a 34-point night, LeBron James finished with 22 points and 10 assists, and the Heat remained unbeaten at home in the postseason by beating the Chicago Bulls 96-85 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday…

Dwyane Wade added 17 points and nine rebounds for Miami, which is 7-0 at home in the playoffs and handed the team that finished with the NBA’s best record its first losing streak since Feb. 5-7. Udonis Haslem sealed it with a jumper with 1:29 left, putting Miami up 93-84.

Game 4 is Tuesday in Miami.

Carlos Boozer finished with 26 points and 17 rebounds for Chicago, which had won the first four meetings of the season with Miami. Derrick Rose finished with 20 points, but struggled from the field again, making only 8 of his 19 shots.

The Bulls held James and Wade to a combined 12-of-30 showing from the floor. Against Bosh, they had no answer…

Boozer made a pair of free throws with 6:39 left to get Chicago within 78-74, the outcome clearly hanging in the balance. Minutes later, that was no longer the case—not after Miami scored nine straight to build more than enough of a cushion…

Rose finished the first half with no assists, just the 11th time in his career that’s happened. He did have 11 points by intermission, when Miami led 43-40—meaning it held Chicago to 69 points in a 48-minute span dating to the midpoint of Game 2.

Live fan discussion of the game took place in this forum topic.

LeBron leads Heat past Bulls for 1-1 tie

The AP reports:

LeBron James came up big down the stretch and scored 29 points, Dwyane Wade added 24 and the Miami Heat beat the Chicago Bulls 85-75 Wednesday night to tie the Eastern Conference finals at one game apiece.

The Heat can breathe a little easier after escaping with a win and stealing home-court advantage. Coming off a lopsided loss in Game 1, they recovered down the stretch after blowing an 11-point lead to pull even in the series.

James shook off a brutal opener and scored nine points over the final 4:27, starting with a 3-pointer that put Miami ahead for good, 76-73. He also had 10 rebounds, and Miami outrebounded the Bulls 45-41 after getting pounded 45-33 on the glass in the opener…

Wade also looked more like a superstar after scoring 18 on Sunday. Udonis Haslem provided a spark off the bench with 13 points, and the Heat beat the Bulls for the first time this season even though Chris Bosh scored just 10 after pouring in 30 in the opener.

Derrick Rose led Chicago with 21 points but scored just two in the fourth quarter. Deng, the only other Bulls player in double figures, added 13 but had just four after the opening period.

Joakim Noah had nine points but only eight rebounds. Taj Gibson provided a spark in the fourth quarter, scoring all of his eight points. Carlos Boozer, however, was a non-factor with seven points and eight rebounds.

The Bulls missed countless layups and got outshot 47.1 percent to 34.1 percent. They were just 3 of 20 on 3-pointers and 16 of 26 at the foul line while getting beat on the glass…

The Heat got 17 points from Wade in the first half, 14 from James and hit 17 of 33 shots. Even so, they were only up 48-46.

One reason: turnovers. They committed nine in the half, leading to 11 points for the Bulls.

Live fan discussion of the game took place in this forum topic.

LeBron happy for Cavs landing No.1 pick

It makes perfect sense to ask LeBron James what his reaction was to the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the first pick in the 2011 NBA Draft in Tuesday night’s Draft Lottery. And as Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:

Tuesday, while waiting for Wednesday’s Game 2 of these Eastern Conference finals against the Chicago Bulls, James watched as the Cavaliers again exited the 2011 lottery with the top overall selection.

“I’m happy for the franchise, I’m happy for the fans,” he said. “I think it is a good step for them.

“But I’ve got a lot more things to worry about now than the lottery.”

While the Cavaliers’ top pick isn’t expected to arrive as the next Chosen One, James appreciates there will be considerable expectations.

I doubt LeBron is thinking much about it right now, either. He’s a bit busy trying to help his Heat come alive against the Bulls after a very disappointing Game 1.

LeBron James dealing with a cold entering Heat-Bulls Game 2

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:

LeBron James dealing with cold entering Game 2

LeBron James did not sound like himself after Wednesday morning’s shootaround at the United Center.

The Miami Heat forward still sounded confident going into Wednesday night’s Game 2 of these best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals against the Chicago Bulls, he just spoke with noticeable congestion in his voice.

With temperatures in the 50s, unseasonable even for Chicago, since the Heat’s arrival, James said he has been dealing with a cold even prior to Sunday’s 103-82 Game 1 loss. He shot an uncharacteristic 5 of 15 in that game, for 15 points,

“I’m taking everything you can get from 7-Eleven,” he told reporters Wednesday morning. “I’ve been sick since we got here.”