Bulls sweep away Heat from postseason
Chicago wins first playoff series since Jordan era
 Hans Deryk / Reuters Bulls forward Andres Nocioni shoots under pressure from Miami's Udonis Haslem during Game 4 on Sunday. |
 | Slideshow |
 | Who's hot on Twitter? Check out which of your favorite athletes have the best pages and most followers! NBCSports.com |
 | Slideshow |
 | more photos |
 | Video: NBA from NBC Sports |
 NBAE/Getty Images Artest officially a Laker July 9: Ron Artest says even though he feels like he's the best, he still needs a ring. |
MIAMI - Michael Jordan’s old Chicago jersey hangs over the Miami Heat’s home floor, a tribute to the six-time NBA champion.
Now, a new bunch of Bulls want a title of their own after ending the Heat’s reign atop the league with a four-game sweep.
Ben Gordon scored 24 points and Luol Deng had 22 to lead Chicago past Miami 92-79 Sunday in Game 4 to clinch the first-round Eastern Conference series. The Bulls advanced in the postseason for the first time since Jordan’s last title in 1998.
Chicago, which meets Detroit next, became the first team to oust a defending champion in the first round since Phoenix did it to San Antonio in 2000.
“We felt confident coming into this series,” Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich said. “We felt like we could win.”
With good reason. Including playoffs, Chicago was 7-1 against Miami this season, starting with a 108-66 win on opening night, spoiling the Heat’s championship-ring celebration, and ending their season by allowing only two points in the final 5:27 of the clincher — closing the game with a 14-2 run.
The coach of that Suns team that beat San Antonio seven years ago? Scott Skiles, who coaches the Bulls now and who put together a plan that befuddled Miami all series long.
“It’s an accomplishment,” Skiles said. “We’re in a funny position here. We want to enjoy it. It was great. We played well. We played hard all four games. We deserved to win — but we want to keep playing.”
Chicago became the 80th consecutive NBA team to advance after taking a 3-0 lead in a series. Only three teams in major pro sports have overcome such a deficit, and the Heat won’t be joining the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1975 New York Islanders and 2004 Boston Red Sox in that exclusive club.
“We ran into more than a formidable opponent,” Heat coach Pat Riley said. “They are a great team. ... They deserved to win. There’s no doubt in my mind. They can go a long way.”
Dwyane Wade scored 24 points for Miami on 8-for-22 shooting, and added 10 assists. Shaquille O’Neal had 16 points, Alonzo Mourning scored 14 and James Posey had 18 rebounds — a club-playoff-record 17 on the defensive end — for the Heat.
|
Miami, which didn’t trail until late in the third quarter, got within one point twice in the fourth, first on a jumper by Wade with 11:15 left, then when Posey — a free-agent-to-be who said after the game he wants to return to Miami — made a pair of free throws with 5:27 remaining.
|
“They had our number, first game of the season,” O’Neal said. “And they had our number the rest of the season. They just had our number.”
Wade scored with 2:32 left to get Miami within 84-79, and the Heat then turned to the Hack-a-Ben strategy — intentionally fouling the Bulls’ Ben Wallace, a notoriously terrible foul shooter — with hopes of getting the ball back. But Wallace made all four of his tries within a 21-second span to push the lead to nine, and the white-clad Heat crowd began shuffling into the offseason.
Wallace finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds and Andres Nocioni had 11 points for Chicago, which committed only five turnovers while forcing 17.
“This is a great feeling. We’re someplace we’ve never been before,” Deng said. “The guys made it a goal at the beginning of the season to get back to this spot, and it worked out that we played them in the first round.”
- Discuss Story On Newsvine
-
Rate Story:
LowHigh - Instant Message
MORE FROM NBA |
 NBA Section Front |
| Add NBA headlines to your news reader: |
Sponsored links