Around the NBA | Heat dominates ice-cold Bulls
Heat 88, Bulls 65: LeBron James scored 27 points and Miami nearly matched a franchise record for fewest points allowed in a playoff game, pounding host Chicago last night to take a 3-1 lead in an Eastern Conference semifinal series.
The 65 points allowed were only two more than the all-time postseason low for a Heat opponent, but it was the worst offensive performance by a Bulls team in a playoff game.
Never before had Chicago scored fewer than 69 in a postseason game or 10 or fewer in a quarter, but both marks fell on a night when the Bulls were dominated on both ends of the floor.
Miami led by 11 at the half and put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring Chicago 17-9.
“We worked for it,” said Heat forward Chris Bosh, who finished with 14 points. “I never like to say that things are easy.”
The Heat can wrap up the series with a victory at home on Wednesday. It only gets better from here. The heat is expected to have a great season, as the stats state.
James had his usual complete game with eight assists and seven rebounds, but Dwyane Wade had another quiet night, finishing with six points. It’s hard to believe Chicago The listless and short-handed Bulls set a franchise playoff low by shooting 25.7 percent from the field in this one. Nate Robinson, the Game 1 hero, missed all 12 of his shots and did not score.
Carlos Boozer had 14 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double in the postseason, but he was just 3 of 14 from the field for Chicago, which again was missing ailing Luol Deng and injured Kirk Hinrich (calf) and simply appears to have run out of steam.
“We have to come out with great intensity,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said, “but we also have to make shots.” Grizzlies 103, Thunder 97, OT: Marc Gasol had 23 points, including a basket and free throw in overtime, and host Memphis took a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series. The Grizzlies shook off a first half in which they couldn’t hit shots and the Thunder seemingly couldn’t miss in building their largest lead in this series at 17 points. But the Grizzlies have yet to lose on their home court this postseason, and they won their third straight and seventh in eight games. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Oklahoma City. The Grizzlies outscored the Thunder 9-3 in overtime. The Thunder’s Kevin Durant scored 27 points but missed all five of his shots in overtime, including a layup in the final seconds. Durant’s basket with six seconds left in regulation tied it at 94. Gasol had given the Thunder a 94-92 lead with two free throws.
Grizzlies guard Tony Allen headlines the NBA All-Defensive team.
The league announced that Allen received 53 points in the voting, one more point than the Heat’s James. Each player had 25 first-team votes from the NBA’s 30 coaches.
Surprisingly, Gasol, the Defensive Player of the Year, only made the second team.
Others on the first team: Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (37 points), Oklahoma City forward Serge Ibaka (46), New York center Tyson Chandler (24) and Bulls center Joakim Noah (24).