MIAMI (AP) — The perspectives could not have been more different. Luol Deng either got pushed in the back by Mike Miller on what became one of the final two game-deciding moments, or tripped over his own feet stumbling for a rebound.
That point could be argued.
What's inarguable, however, is this: Another
final-second opportunity slipped away from the Miami Heat, and the Chicago
Bulls — spurned last summer in their bids to land Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and
Chris Bosh — swept all three regular-season meetings from the team that signed
them.
The Big 3? They're No. 3 in the East at this point,
after Derrick Rose scored 27 points, Deng capped an 18-point effort with two
free throws on a debated play with 15.9 seconds remaining, and the Bulls beat
Miami 87-86 on Sunday to hand the Heat their fourth straight loss.
"The Miami Heat are exactly what everyone
wanted, losing games," Wade said. "The world is better now because
the Heat is losing."
Carlos Boozer scored 12 and Joakim Noah added 11
for the Bulls, who moved a game ahead of Miami into outright possession of
second place in the Eastern Conference. Chicago was down by 12 late in the
first half, then became the fourth team since Feb. 24 to erase a double-digit
deficit against the Heat.
"We have guys who can close," Bulls coach
Tom Thibodeau said.
Few would say that Miami doesn't — but closing
games has been, and continues to be, the biggest Heat challenge.
James had a chance to win it on a drive with 6
seconds left, missing a contested shot, and Wade's desperation toss from the
right baseline bounced away as time expired.
Those were the 12th and 13th consecutive shots that
the Heat have missed with a chance to tie or lead a game in the final 10
seconds of regulation or overtime. James has missed four in this four-game
losing streak alone.
"I told my team, I'm not going to continue to
fail late in games," James said. "I put a lot of blame on myself
tonight. I told the guys that I just keep failing them late in games and I
won't continue to do that."
James scored 26 points, Bosh added 23 and Wade had
20 for the Heat, who put together a rally to take the lead in the final minute.
The Heat were down 82-76 with 3:30 left when Rose
made a jumper over Miller, before Mario Chalmers led the comeback effort. He
hit a 3-pointer to tie it with 1:05 left, then blew past a closeout for an easy
layup from the left side that put the Heat ahead 86-84 with 25 seconds
remaining.
With Chicago down by two, Deng made one free throw,
missing the second. Noah got a hand on the ball, keeping James and Erick
Dampier from grabbing it cleanly, and in the chase for the carom referee Tony
Brothers called a foul on Miller for pushing Deng in the back.
"Looked like he tripped on his own," Bosh
said.
Deng went back to the line and made both this time,
putting Chicago in front.
"That's the right call," Rose said.
The ball went to James, who drove on Noah and
missed a layup from the left block. Wade got the rebound, tried a 15-footer
from the baseline that bounced away, and time expired as the Bulls leaped in
celebration and Thibodeau punched the air.
"We're just trying to play the best we
can," Noah said. "I think we still have a long way to go and we can get
a lot better. That's what is so exciting about this team. Our defense is really
improving. We can still improve offensively as well. We can take this pretty
far."
Spoelstra said some players were moved to tears in
the Heat locker room. This much is clear: He and the Heat are hurting.
"One of these days, we will break
through," Spoelstra said.
Down nine at the half, the Bulls shot 39 percent in
the third quarter, still managing to outscore Miami 23-16 thanks to five Heat
turnovers, a 14-9 edge in rebounding — and Rose, who made a ridiculous shot
early in the period look ridiculously simple.
Even a 1-on-2 break — him against Wade and James,
no less — went Chicago's way. Rose bumped slightly into Wade to create
separation on his drive downcourt, then leaped, double-clutched so James could
fly harmlessly by from the left wing, and then spun a left-handed layup off the
glass to cut Miami's lead to 54-50.
He skipped back upcourt, head back confidently,
pumping up teammates. And Rose stayed that way until the finish.
"We're just taking it for what it is,"
Rose said. "We're just trying to win games, play hard and play aggressive
on both ends."
Copyright
2011 The Associated Press.
(AP
Photo/Lynne Sladky)
