C.J. Watson the surprise star as Chicago Bulls defeat Miami Heat in an overtime thriller – NBA Recap
C.J Watson scored 16 points, including the game tying three pointer in the final minutes of regulation to force overtime, and the Bulls held on to defeat the Miami Heat 96-86 here at the United Center. It was
a tough match as expected, with the teams needing an extra five minutes to decide the winner.
MVP Derrick Rose played the game after missing Bulls last encounter against New York, but probably had the worst game of his career, scoring 2 points from 1 of 13 shooting from the field. Rose has not found his
touch since returning from his injury that forced him to miss 12 games in a row. LeBron James scored a game high 30 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.
The Heat started the proceedings and took an early 10-2 lead. Miami then maintained a comfortable lead for much of the 1st quarter. Back to back shots by LeBron James and Mario Chalmers
made the score 22-13 to Miami. However, Chicago scored the last 6 points of the quarter, 5 of which were scored by C.J Watson, and finished the 1st quarter trailing 22-19.
Chicago took the lead for the first time in the game with a free throw by Watson, after Kyle Korver had tied the game at 24 with a three pointer. Korver followed with effort from downtown after Watson’s free
throw, extending the Bulls lead to 28-24.
Miami came back with a 7-0 run, capped off by a three pointer by Mike Miller, to tie the game at 36. James then stepped up for a three pointer that was good to give Miami a 39-36 lead with 1:20 left in the game.
Miami were up 41-36 at the end of the 1st half.
Rose made his only field goal of the night with 7:01 remaining in the 3rd quarter to bring Chicago within 6. Dwyane Wade replied with a jump shot and Chris Bosh scored a jumper on a turnover
by Rose to give Miami a 58-48 lead. The Bulls came back in the closing stages of the quarter, when Richard “Rip” Hamilton scored a 3 pointer to start a flurry of shots. Chicago were trailing by only 2 points at the end of the third.
Deng scored another 3 pointer early in the final quarter to tie the game at 65. Watson then stepped up for a jump shot, followed by a three by Korver to give Chicago a 5 point lead. Miami came back with a three
point play by James followed by a jump shot by Bosh to tie the game at 70.
5 consecutive points by Korver however gave the Bulls a 78-74 lead with 3:28 remaining in the game. Wade scored 4 in a row, followed by a big time 3 pointer by James to give Miami an 83-81 lead and under minute
left in play. James was then fouled, but missed a crucial free throw that would have given Miami a two possession lead. James only made 1 and Miami had a 3 point lead. Watson stepped up for a 3 pointer and scored big time with 2 seconds left in the game to
force a tie at 84 and take the game into overtime.
It was all Bulls in over time, with Miami only able to score 2 points off free throws. The Bulls outscored Miami 12-2 in overtime to take the game 96-86. Miami had 3 turnovers in over time alone.
Chris Bosh had a better game for Miami as compared to his recent performances. He had 20 points and 8 rebounds. Dwyane Wade added 21 points and 4 assists for Miami. 5 Bulls players were in double figures, led
by Carlos Boozer with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Kyle Korver had 17 points, 15 of which came from 3 pointers.
Joakim Noah had an off night for the Bulls, managing only 5 points and 4 rebounds. It was crucial for Miami to box him out and stop him from grabbing rebounds. Miami did a good job and restricted the Bulls to
45 rebounds, while grabbing 41 themselves. In this way, they neutralized the Bulls advantage in rebounding and made the game much more balanced.
Both teams shot 43% from the field but at 50%, the Bulls shot much better from the 3 point line which made the difference in the end. Chicago had 26 assists against 17 for Miami. Miami had 36 points in the paint
compared with 28 for the Bulls. Both teams led by as many as 10.
Bulls face Miami again on Thursday night at Miami, in the final match of this season series. For now, they have improved their record to 45-14, the best in the league. The Heat have now lost 6 of their last 11
games.
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