Heat too hot for Bulls in game 4
After being turned over by the Heat in game 3, the Chicago Bulls headed south to Florida to take on the Miami Heat at the American Airlines Arena. The Bulls were in desperate need of a win to level the series, to take back to Illinois on Thursday night.
The Bulls playing all in red won the tip off, but they couldn’t convert on their first possession as Sudan-born Luol Deng fired one back off the rim. The first points of the night came on the Heat’s first passage of attack as veteran 6’2” Point Guard Mike Bibby knocked down a 15 foot jumper. MVP Derrick Rose struggled early on, missing four straight shots and the Heat through seven times All-Star LeBron James, (averaging 25.2 points in the playoffs), knocked down the first free-throws of the night to open a early 4 point lead for Miami. After several attempts at the hoop, the nervy Bulls finally got on the board as the 6’11 inch Noah tipped in following up a shot from Luol Deng.
The opening five minutes were frantic and fast and the Bulls’ Keith Boguns netted the first three of the night, giving the Bulls an 11-6 lead. This was then shortly followed by the much talked about Derrick Rose hitting his first jumper, making him 1 for 5 from the field early on. The turning point of the nervy first quarter then came as Derrick Rose ran clear and slammed a one-handed dunk down which stunned the AAA sell out crowd. The fast paced start continued with both teams scrambling for rebounds and the ex-Jazz man Carlos Boozer swished a 2 pointer to open up a 10 point lead. Momentum shifted once again though and LeBron netted 8 straight points for the Heat meaning they ended the quarter just 3 points down.
The Heat’s hot tempo remained in to the second as Mario Chalmers entered the game and nailed a three, to continue Miami’s run which went to 13-0. The struggling Bulls got their first point of the quarter through a technical free throw, and then Deng, who will represent Britain at the 2012 Olympics, finished off a great passing move to take his tally on the night to 10. Midway through the second, Dwayne Wade who had been quiet all evening, suddenly produced a great piece of skill which saw him flick the ball out of the back of his hand to Chris Bosh, who duly accepted the pass and finished the move off by sinking a 15 foot jumper.
The Heat continued to pile on the pressure, as LeBron James put a huge block in on Derrick Rose and the crowd, all in white, rose to their feet. With three minutes left there was yet another momentum shift as the Bulls went on a 6-0 run which involved Rose dribbling through numerous defenders and slamming it down one handed, could it get any better? Of course it could, as just thirty seconds later, MVP Derrick Rose once again faked a shot and pulled off a breath taking dunk over the top of Joel Anthony; possibly the two best dunks of the year. That ended a superb half of basketball, with the score tightly poised at 46-44 in favour of Chicago.
Lebron started the 3rd quarter well for Miami, knocking down a tough jumper to tie the scores, but Deng replied instantly with a dunk courtesy of a pass from the busy Joakim Noah. The Bulls came out of the blocks quickly, with Keith Bogans sinking his 2nd three of the night. The Heat’s struggles meant they were shooting 36% from the field in the game, and Chicago’s solid defence made it hard for the Heat to improve these figures. The impressive Noah worked his socks off all night. The latter part of the 3rd quarter was a quiet one, until James threw a huge dunk over the top of Luol Deng to cut the Bulls’ lead to 2 late on. The buzzer sounded for the end of the third and the Bulls deservedly lead 68-63.
Yet again, the impressive James netted the first points of the quarter as they started the fourth, laying one up and cutting the lead to 3. The Bulls, known for their 4th quarter nerves, typically struggled early on and only netted a single point in 3 minutes courtesy of a technical free throw. 3 point specialist and ex-Washington Wizard Mike Miller hit a trademark three to give the Heat their first lead of the second half, and the score was tensely poised at 72-71 to Miami.
In the last half of the final quarter, both teams struggled to find a rhythm with lots of fouls occurring, including a flagrant foul on Chris Bosh. With three minutes to go, both sides started to find a rhythm and traded successive baskets, and with two minutes remaining in this great contest the score was nicely poised at 83-82 in favour of the team from Florida. Rose went to the line after driving hard to the basket and let the nerves get the better of him, as he only hit one of his two free throws. The score was tied at 85-85, and the Heat missed two chances in the last forty seconds to offer the Bulls a chance to take it with the last play of the game. But Rose could only produce an air ball with his buzzer-beater effort. The game was heading to OT!
Tension was felt all around the AAA, as both teams struggled early on and it took over a minute for the first points of OT to be registered as Bosh was sent to the line by Boozer, and sunk two free throws. From then on in it was all about James and Wade as they inflicted 10 points on a Bulls side that had no response, and the game ended with the score at 101-93.
The Heat now have a comprehensive 3-1 lead to take to the United Centre on Thursday night, where they will try and end the series inside 5 games.
