Heat incinerate Bulls in OT to get 3-1 lead

A win away from the Finals.

Miami clawed within a game away from reaching the elusive NBA Finals by edging out the Bulls in Game 4 101-93 OT victory led by LeBron James with 35 points and they survived an off night from Dwayne Wade last night at Miami Florida.

Wade really struggled this game, scoring only 8 points from the 2nd quarter and scoreless in the 2nd half until the halfway point in OT but the other members of the Big 3 James and Bosh filled in for the void lest by D-Wade.

Bosh scored 22 points and is extremely dominant this series, scoring 30 or more in 2 games this series thus far and his improved performance was a key turning point as they will try to wrap up the series in Chicago.

The Bulls lost three straight for the first time this season and that is after winning the first 4 battles with the Heat this season including the opener of this East Finals.

MVP Derrick Rose scored 23 points but it wasn't even a decent performance as he only shot 8-27 and he even committed 7 turnovers. Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer both added 20 for the Bulls who will face a do or die game in their home floor on Thursday.

Heat seize 2-1 lead against Bulls

Stopping the dynamic duo clearly wasn't enough.

The Miami Heat emerged with an 96-85 victory over the Chicago Bulls to deal the No.1 seed their first losing skid since February and take the crucial 2-1 series lead last night at Miami.

Chris Bosh stunned the Bulls with 34 points, his second 30+ point performance in this series and it catapulted his team to the win although two of the "Big 3" LeBron James and Dwayne Wade combined for just 12-30 attempts from the floor.

Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with his double-double of 26 points and 17 rebounds but MVP Derrick Rose struggled shooting once again, hitting just 8-19 shots and he didn't even have an assist throughout the first half.

The Bulls clawed to within 4, 78-74 but they allowed Miami 9 unanswered points and the latter cruised on to the victory.

Game 4 will be played in Miami, with the home team trying to win a 3-1 series lead while the embattled Bulls will attempt to steal a game to tie the series before heading back to Chicago.

Heat beat Bulls to even series

Another spectacular end game barrage.

The Miami Heat knocked off the Chicago Bulls to gain homecourt advantage on their Eastern Conference Finals series with their 85-75 victory last night at the United Center in Chicago Illinois and tie the battle at 1 game apiece.

LeBron James bounced back from a poor performance in the opener to score 29 points while Dwayne Wade added 24 markers. James exploded in the end game to turn a close contest to a break away win with consecutive baskets when the Bulls can't buy a basket.

The Heat did a better job at the rebounding department winning it 45-41 after getting pounded 45-33 in Game 1.

The Bulls started really cold, missing their first nine shots before Bogans scored 5 straight points to get them going and despite the poor shooting they managed to lead the first quarter capped by the halfcourt buzzer beater by Luol Deng 26-19.

Udonis Haslem scored 13 off the bench and he didn't disappoint his coach Eric Spoelstra when he inserted him to the lineup and called him a "warrior".

Derrick Rose score 21 for the Bulls and Deng contributed 13 after scoring nine in the first half but it was a total struggle offensively as they shot only 34 percent as compared to Miami's 47% clip and they missed 10 freethrow attempts 16-26.

Game 3 will be played in Miami where both teams will try to win a decisive 2-1 lead.

Bulls make clear statement against Heat on Game 1

The Bulls really meant business.

No.1 seed Chicago Bulls delivered an emphatic message to the Miami Heat after their 103-82 victory in the opener of Eastern Conference Finals in front of the supportive crowd at the United Center in Chicago last night.

Derrick Rose led the charge with 28 points and 6 assists but it was the balanced attack and overall dominance of the stat sheet and hungriness for the win that catapulted the Bulls to this masterful performance.

Luol Deng contributed 21 points and provided the tough defense on LeBron James all night long holding him to just 15 points and 5-15 shooting.

Carlos Boozer and provided stability from the interior with 14 points and 9 rebounds together with Joakim Noah who hauled in 14 rebounds as they dominated the rebound battle 45-33.

Chris Bosh led the Heat with 30 points and his pair of freethrows with 5 minutes remaining cut the lead to 12 but Korver hit a 3 and Rose hit a floater afterwards to pretty much put the game away from the reach of the Heat.

Taj Gibson gave the fans something to remember right before going home as he flushed in an amazing putback slam off a missed three point attempt. He also posterized Dwayne Wade in the eaarlier parts of the game.

Game 2 will still be in the Windy City on Wednesday (Thursday Manila time) where the home team will try to take a commanding 2-0 lead before heading to Miami.

Bulls advance to East Finals by ousting Hawks

The next big challenge is right ahead.

No.1 seed Chicago Bulls secured their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals by pulling down the curtain on the Atlanta Hawks' season on Game 6 after a masterful 93-73 demolishing last night at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta.

Now, Chicago will lock horns with the Miami Heat and their "big three" of LeBron James,Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh as they vie for Eastern Conference supremacy and a ticket to the prestigious NBA Finals in an attempt to capture the championship.

Carlos Boozer went berserk, shooting 10-16 from the field to finish with 23 points and 10 rebounds and he also provided tough defense on the Atlanta frontcourt of Josh Smith and Al Horford as he worked side by side with Joakim Noah who blocked 3 shots.

The no. 1 defensive team in the league held the Hawks down to 42% shooting and Atlanta didn't manage to score at least 20 points in any of the quarters, a huge proof that the Bulls' defense really held it's ground.

Derrick Rose sacrificed some of his offense as he dished out 12 assists and shot only only 13 attempts to get his 19 points, in contrast to Game 4 where he shot 30+ attempts and the Hawks managed to put the cuffs on him leading to their defeat.

Joe Johnson finished with 19 points but he shot only 7-18 from the floor while Game 4 hero Josh Smith scored 18 points had 3 steals and 2 blocks but the big missing factors are Jamal Crawford and Al Horford who both shot 2-10 from the field.

How can Rose and the Bulls try to stop the rampage of James and Wade together with the rest of the Miami Heat team? That is the big question in the minds of basketball fans around the globe as they await this big showdown.

Bulls edge out Hawks to get 3-2 lead

The Bulls are seeing red alright.

MVP Derrick Rose once again led the first seeded Bulls with 33 points and 9 assists in their 95-83 win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals to push the Hawks to the brink of elimination last night at Chicago.

Luol Deng camback strong after struggling in Atlanta scoring 23 points and Taj Gibson scored all of his 11 points in the 4th quarter to lead an 26-15 rampage in the last quarter of this pivotal game.

Chicago was given everything they can handle especially in the 3rd quarter when the Hawks shot 60 percent from the field to overcome a 15 point deficit and threaten the Bulls of another strong finishing surge.

Jeff Teague came out with another 21 point performance to lead the Hawks. Josh Smith chipped in 16 points, Joe Johnson scored 15 and Al Horford contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Game 6 will be in Atlanta where the Hawks will try to tie things up to force a Game 7 in Chicago while the Bulls will look to secure their ticket to the East Finals.

Rose power Bulls to 2-1 lead over Hawks

2011 MVP living up to expectations.

The Chicago Bulls took the driver seat of their Eastern Conference semifinals match up with the Atlanta Hawks after a 99-82 road win last night at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta led by their MVP Derrick Rose.

Rose flared up the Hawks with a career high 44 points seasoned with 7 assists and 5 rebounds to regain homecourt advantage in the series and push the Hawks to a seemingly "must-win" situation this coming Game 4 to be held once again in Atlanta.

Hawks had no answer for Rose since the opening tip-off allowing him to score 17 points in the 1st Quarter, much to the dismay of the home fans as the series shifted to the Phillips Arena for the first time.

Jeff Teague was the lone bright spot for the Hawks scoring 21 points but he was repeatedly punished in the defensive end by the wide arsenal of moves Derrick Rose showed throughout the game.

Chicago's bench was exceptional for this game as they sparked a pivotal second quarter push to pad the lead to double digits while their starters rested in the sidelines. CJ Watson, Taj Gibson and Ronnie Brewer did a good job starting the second quarter from both ends of the court, giving their team the spark they needed to stay comfortably ahead.

Josh Smith accounted for a respectable 17 points and 13 rebounds but he attempted a lot of long jumpers that did not get him much success and the frustrations from the crowd mounted as Game 1 heroes Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford was limited to 10 and 7 points respectively.

The Bulls head to Game 4 hoping to get a commanding 3-1 series lead while the Hawks hope to knot the series at 2-2 before heading back to the Windy City.

Rose named 2011 NBA MVP

He knew right from the start that he was on his way to being the MVP.

22 year-old All-Star point guard Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls became the youngest ever MVP in NBA history after he received the 2011 Kia Motors MVP plum last Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila Time)

after leading the Bulls to 62 wins this season, the most since the championship glory days and he joined Michael Jordan as the only 2 Bulls players to ever get the award.

Rose averaged 25 points and 7.7 assists as he led his team to being the number 1 seed in the entire league and he hopes to steer his squad to it's first ever championship since the Jordan-Pippen era. He collected 1,182 points with 113 first place votes from media voters in a land slide victory as he was followed by Orlando's Dwight Howard (643 points) while LeBron James ranked third in the list.

He stepped up his game even more in the play-offs as he led his team over the Indiana Pacers in the first round after dropping 39 and 36 points in the first two games before scoring 25 in game 5 to help his team wrap up the series.

Rose walked away with a sprained ankle in the last moments of their Game 1 loss to the Atlanta Hawks which ended 103-95 but he will try to get his team back on the right track in Game 2 as they try to even out the series.

Meanwhile, Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau received the 2011 Coach of the Year Award, a testament to Chicago's success this season.