Times wires
Sunday, May 22, 2011
MIAMI — For the second time in three games, Chris Bosh had a monster night against the Bulls.
Unlike the first, this one paid off with a win.
And the Heat is two victories from its first trip to the NBA Finals since 2006.
Bosh scored 34, LeBron James finished with 22 points and 10 assists, and the Heat remained unbeaten at home in the postseason by beating the Bulls 96-85 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday night.
Dwyane Wade added 17 points and nine rebounds for Miami, which is now 7-0 at home and handed the team that finished with the NBA's best record its first losing streak since Feb. 5-7. Udonis Haslem sealed it with a jumper with 1:29 left, putting Miami up 93-84.
Bosh scored 30 in Game 1 against Chicago, when Miami was embarrassed 103-82. The Heat hasn't lost since, and only trailed for 3:22 in Game 3.
"I just wanted to be aggressive and just have some kind of imprint on this series," said Bosh, who's in the conference final round for the first time. "I had an aggressive Game 1, Game 2 was so-so, but we still won. But out here on the home floor I just wanted to be aggressive and it turned out to be a good game."
A really good game — it was five points shy of his postseason career best.
Carlos Boozer finished with 26 points and 17 rebounds for Chicago, which had won the first four meetings of the season with Miami. Derrick Rose finished with 20 points, but shot 8-for-19 from the field.
Heat 96, Bulls 85
CHICAGO (85): Deng 6-13 0-0 14, Boozer 8-19 10-12 26, Noah 0-4 1-2 1, Rose 8-19 3-3 20, Bogans 1-3 1-2 4, Asik 0-3 0-0 0, Gibson 5-6 1-2 11, Brewer 2-6 0-0 4, Watson 1-2 0-0 2, Korver 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 32-77 16-21 85.
MIAMI (96): James 6-13 9-9 22, Bosh 13-18 8-10 34, Anthony 1-2 1-2 3, Bibby 2-5 0-0 6, Wade 6-17 5-6 17, Haslem 4-7 0-0 8, Miller 0-2 0-0 0, Chalmers 2-3 2-2 6. Totals 34-67 25-29 96.
Chicago 15 25 25 20— 85
Miami 18 25 25 28— 96
3-Point Goals—Chicago 5-12 (Deng 2-5, Korver 1-1, Bogans 1-3, Rose 1-3), Miami 3-9 (Bibby 2-4, James 1-2, Chalmers 0-1, Miller 0-1, Wade 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Chicago 49 (Boozer 17), Miami 38 (Wade 9). Assists—Chicago 15 (Noah 6), Miami 20 (James 10). Total Fouls—Chicago 24, Miami 17. A—20,123 (19,600).
Mavs-Thunder: A day after suggesting that the Thunder's defense against Dirk Nowitzki was stretching the rules and "the line may be crossed at times," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle took a step back from those comments.
Carlisle said he didn't want to get into "what's legal or not legal" and instead said the Mavs must put Nowitzki in better positions to succeed against Nick Collison.
Nowitzki has gone from making 24 of 24 free throws and scoring 48 in Game 1 to earning only three free throws and only 18 points in Game 3. "They were physical. Trying to drive, there was really not much being called for me," Nowitzki said.
Dallas beat Oklahoma City 93-87 Saturday and leads the series 2-1 heading into Game 4 tonight.
Un-T-ed: The league rescinded a technical foul on Mavericks center Tyson Chandler, ruling that Chandler's contact with the Thunder's James Harden in Game 3 was incidental and not unsportsmanlike.