Udonis Haslem provided the inspiration, LeBron James applied the finishing touches and the Miami Heat got even.
James scored nine of his 29 points in the closing minutes, including the tie-breaking three, and the visiting Heat clamped down on the defence to beat the Chicago Bulls 85-75 on Wednesday night to square the Eastern Conference finals at 1-1.
"It was a big game," said James, who also grabbed 10 rebounds. "We felt like it was a must-win for us going home and we did everything we could to take it back to Miami tied at 1-1."
Haslem missed most of the season after undergoing foot surgery in November. He logged seven scoreless minutes in the playoffs before stepping up with 13 valuable points of the bench.
"He was player of the game," Heat star Dwyane Wade said of the power forward. "That's what we've been missing out there all year without him.
"He goes 8-for-10 and shows his determination and heart out there. He showed what he was made of."
"It's been a long road back, my teammates have been patient with me," Haslem said. "If we don't win this game my contributions mean nothing. So I'm happy to get the victory."
Wade netted 24 and Chris finished with 10 for second-seeded Miami, which held the hosts to a mere 10 fourth-quarter points to bounce back from Sunday's 103-82 drubbing.
"We got that one that we needed," Wade said. "Now, we go home and we've got to take care of business. This team right here is like us. They can win at home and on the road."
Miami hosts game three on Sunday night after having stolen the home-court advantage away from the top seeds in the best-of-seven series.
NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose scored 21 points on an icy 7-of-23 shooting while Luol Deng added 13 for Chicago, which shot just 34 per cent (28-82) from the field.
"I missed shots I normally make," Rose said. "Everyone was just missing easy layups."
"We played a low-energy offense, a low-energy defence and the result was not good," Bulls and NBA Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau said.
At the same time, Thibodeau praised the Heat's defensive effort.
"Give them credit, their defence was outstanding," he said. "They were into us, they had a lot fight."
Ahead 48-46 at halftime, Miami received an unexpected spark from Haslem, who scored nine points on 4-of-4 shooting as the Heat went ahead by as much as 11 late in the third quarter.
"I talked to him two days ago, and there was a look in his eye," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. "I've been through a lot of battles with that warrior, and I knew it was time to put him in."
The fourth quarter was a battle of attrition as both teams relied on their stingy defence, with the Heat outscoring the Bulls, 14-10.
"If you love offensive games you didn't love this game," James said. "This was two good defensive teams going at it.
"The whole game was about defence but in the fourth quarter it was about the Heat defence. When we play defence like that we're tough to beat."
The Heat was held to a single basket over a seven-minute span at the start of the fourth quarter, allowing the Bulls to get back into it with an 8-0 run. Taj Gibson scored six, including a layup that tied it at 73-73 with 7:17 left.
The game turned bloody with 4:36 remaining when Wade's layup was rejected by Bulls backup centre Omer Asik and both were treated for wounds minutes later.
Following a timeout, James knocked down the three-pointer with 4:28 to play, giving the Heat a 76-73 edge. He then pump-faked Rose in the air and buried a jumper, extending it to 78-73 at the 3:15 mark.
The Bulls clawed to within 78-75 with 2:29 remaining when Gibson powered inside for a layup but failed to complete the three-point play after drawing a foul.
That's as close as they would get to the disappointment of the nearly 23,000 fans at the United Centre.
Wade hit two free throws, James scored from inside and followed with a jumper off a steal, opening up a 84-75 lead with 47 seconds left that wrapped it up.
"We had tied it and I thought we would have pulled it off, but LeBron came up big at the end," Deng said.
"We let one go, but it's a tied series. It's not the end of the world. These things will happen. We need to bounce back."
James scored nine of his 29 points in the closing minutes, including the tie-breaking three, and the visiting Heat clamped down on the defence to beat the Chicago Bulls 85-75 on Wednesday night to square the Eastern Conference finals at 1-1.
"It was a big game," said James, who also grabbed 10 rebounds. "We felt like it was a must-win for us going home and we did everything we could to take it back to Miami tied at 1-1."
Haslem missed most of the season after undergoing foot surgery in November. He logged seven scoreless minutes in the playoffs before stepping up with 13 valuable points of the bench.
"He was player of the game," Heat star Dwyane Wade said of the power forward. "That's what we've been missing out there all year without him.
"He goes 8-for-10 and shows his determination and heart out there. He showed what he was made of."
"It's been a long road back, my teammates have been patient with me," Haslem said. "If we don't win this game my contributions mean nothing. So I'm happy to get the victory."
Wade netted 24 and Chris finished with 10 for second-seeded Miami, which held the hosts to a mere 10 fourth-quarter points to bounce back from Sunday's 103-82 drubbing.
"We got that one that we needed," Wade said. "Now, we go home and we've got to take care of business. This team right here is like us. They can win at home and on the road."
Miami hosts game three on Sunday night after having stolen the home-court advantage away from the top seeds in the best-of-seven series.
NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose scored 21 points on an icy 7-of-23 shooting while Luol Deng added 13 for Chicago, which shot just 34 per cent (28-82) from the field.
"I missed shots I normally make," Rose said. "Everyone was just missing easy layups."
"We played a low-energy offense, a low-energy defence and the result was not good," Bulls and NBA Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau said.
At the same time, Thibodeau praised the Heat's defensive effort.
"Give them credit, their defence was outstanding," he said. "They were into us, they had a lot fight."
Ahead 48-46 at halftime, Miami received an unexpected spark from Haslem, who scored nine points on 4-of-4 shooting as the Heat went ahead by as much as 11 late in the third quarter.
"I talked to him two days ago, and there was a look in his eye," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. "I've been through a lot of battles with that warrior, and I knew it was time to put him in."
The fourth quarter was a battle of attrition as both teams relied on their stingy defence, with the Heat outscoring the Bulls, 14-10.
"If you love offensive games you didn't love this game," James said. "This was two good defensive teams going at it.
"The whole game was about defence but in the fourth quarter it was about the Heat defence. When we play defence like that we're tough to beat."
The Heat was held to a single basket over a seven-minute span at the start of the fourth quarter, allowing the Bulls to get back into it with an 8-0 run. Taj Gibson scored six, including a layup that tied it at 73-73 with 7:17 left.
The game turned bloody with 4:36 remaining when Wade's layup was rejected by Bulls backup centre Omer Asik and both were treated for wounds minutes later.
Following a timeout, James knocked down the three-pointer with 4:28 to play, giving the Heat a 76-73 edge. He then pump-faked Rose in the air and buried a jumper, extending it to 78-73 at the 3:15 mark.
The Bulls clawed to within 78-75 with 2:29 remaining when Gibson powered inside for a layup but failed to complete the three-point play after drawing a foul.
That's as close as they would get to the disappointment of the nearly 23,000 fans at the United Centre.
Wade hit two free throws, James scored from inside and followed with a jumper off a steal, opening up a 84-75 lead with 47 seconds left that wrapped it up.
"We had tied it and I thought we would have pulled it off, but LeBron came up big at the end," Deng said.
"We let one go, but it's a tied series. It's not the end of the world. These things will happen. We need to bounce back."
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire