Miami Heat surge down the stretch to beat the Chicago Bulls 85-75 – Part 1
Led by a late surge from LeBron James, Miami Heat evened their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Chicago Bulls with an 85 – 75 win. The game was closely fought affair till deep into the fourth quarter, but a late Miami
charge, keyed by James, not only silenced the home crowd at the United Center but also neutralized the home court advantage of the Chicago Bulls.
There had been a lot of criticism on the performances of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James in game-1. The two players combined for just 30 points that night and were nowhere to be seen down the stretch. Both of them had however vowed
to strike vengeance in game-2 and they lived up to their word.
LeBron James was the top performer on the night with 29 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. He also came up big with some clutch shots at the end. Dwyane Wade bounced back from a disappointing showing in game-1 to record figures
of 24 points and 9 rebounds while Udonis Haslem marked his comeback with 13 points and 5 boards off the bench. Chris Bosh, after scoring 30 in the last game, managed only 10 to go with his 8 rebounds.
MVP Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 21 points and also dished out 8 assists. However, poor shooting that has marred his game for much of the post season came back to haunt him again. Rose went a very low 7-of-23 from the field
and his inaccuracy was a big factor in Chicago’s demise. Other than him, Luol Deng had a notable night with 13 points and 5 rebounds.
Rose admitted afterwards that he had a poor night and said there was nothing that could be done about it now, "I missed a lot of shots. It was just one of those nights."
However it wasn’t just the struggles of Derrick Rose that cost the Bulls game-2. Chicago’s coach was not pleased with the effort of his team and he let them know after the game, "We played a low-energy offense, a low-energy defense
and the result was not good," Coach Tom Thibodeau said.
The Heat started on the front foot, going 8-3 to begin the game. However the Bulls came back as the quarter progressed and took control after the lead changed hands thrice. They ended the quarter ahead by seven at 26 – 19, thanks
to an audacious buzzer beater by Luol Deng from behind the halfway line.
The Heat started with a 7 – 2 sprint in the second quarter to cut the gap down to 2 points. However the Bulls put up a stout resistance and after being caught up twice by the Heat, they sprinted to a 5 point advantage, courtesy
a 3-pointer from Kyle Korver with 4:47 remaining. Wade then gave Miami the lead near the end only to see Rose snatch it back for the Bulls once again. However Miami had the last laugh when LeBron James drove for a layup at the death and the sides went in at
48 – 46, advantage Heat.
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