Heat burn Bulls in OT
Published:Thursday | May 26, 2011 | 12:00 AM
MIAMI (AP):
The first 48 minutes of Dwyane Wade's night were unremarkable. Five minutes of overtime changed all that.
And Miami's Big Three is one win away from playing for the NBA's biggest prize.
LeBron James scored 35 points, Chris Bosh added 22 and Wade perked up to block three shots - one more than Chicago made in overtime, as the Heat topped the Bulls 101-93 in a scintillating Game Four of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night.
"It's one game away," James said. "We're not taking anything for granted."
Derrick Rose scored 23 points for the Bulls, who got 20 apiece from Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer.
Chicago have 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 eight of 27 and turned the ball over seven times.
Still, some doubt may be creeping in. Chicago had their chances, and knew it, but were unable to take advantage of a largely off night by Wade. Rose was guarded in the game's biggest minutes by James and the MVP from 2009 and 2010 had the upper hand against this season's MVP.
"It's extremely hard," Rose acknowledged, "when a 6-8 guy can easily defend you."
The Heat were down by 11 early, led for only 41/2 minutes in the third and fourth quarters and had Wade stuck on eight points from late in the second until past the midpoint of overtime.
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.
And the stars, well, were stars.
"We know offensively, at times, we have rough stretches," James said. "But we give ourselves chances to win every game because we defend."
James was 11 for 26 from the field and 13 of 13 - his best play-off showing ever - from the foul line. Bosh was aggressive again, making 10 of his 11 free throws. Miami made their last 24 straight from the stripe and the defence was again the biggest key of all.