National Basketball Association
Miami 83, Chicago 80
When: 8:30 PM ET, Thursday, May 26, 2011
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Officials:
#34 Marc Davis, #48 Scott Foster, #57 Greg Willard
Attendance:
23057
By SportsDirect Inc.
Dwyane Wade and LeBron James combined to score 22 fourth-quarter points as the Miami Heat locked up a spot in the NBA Finals Thursday with a stunning 83-80 win over the host Chicago Bulls.
Down by double digits late, Miami closed the game on an 18-3 run - highlighted by a pair of James 3-pointers and a Wade four-point play - to wrap up the Eastern Conference final in five games. The Heat will face the West-champion Dallas Mavericks in a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals.
With the game tied in the final minute of regulation, James blocked a Derrick Rose pass attempt and the Heat recovered the ball. James then buried a stepback jumper from 18 feet to give Miami an 81-79 advantage, its first lead since midway through the opening quarter.
Rose hit just one of two free throws at the other end while Bosh converted a pair of foul shots for Miami. Rose had a final chance to send the game to overtime but couldn't get off a decent shot attempt with a pair of Miami players draped all over him.
James finished with 28 points while Wade added 21 and Chris Bosh poured in 20.
Rose had 25 points but shot just 9 for 28 in defeat.
Chicago held Miami to 37.1 per cent shooting in the first half to take a 45-38 lead into the break. A Keith Bogans 3-pointer just past the midway point of the third quarter gave the Bulls an 11-point edge before Miami clawed back thanks to a free-throw barrage ignited by a Carlos Boozer flagrant foul for hitting James in the face as he went in for a layup.
Rose opened the final quarter with a 3-pointer, then found a wide-open Kurt Thomas for his first basket of the series as Chicago restored its double-digit advantage. Miami responded with a 7-0 run highlighted by a 3-pointer from James, who had missed his previous nine shots.
Rose answered with a spinning jumper from the free-throw line, but Wade was fouled on a made 3-pointer on Miami's next possession and hit the ensuing free throw to cut it to 79-76. Rose missed a shot from in close and James countered with another 3 from the left elbow to draw the teams even with 1:01 remaining.
Top Game Performances
| Miami |
|
Chicago |
|
LeBron James 28 |
Scoring |
Derrick Rose 25 |
|
LeBron James 6 |
Assists |
Derrick Rose 8 |
|
LeBron James 11 |
Rebounds |
Joakim Noah 8 |
|
LeBron James 9 |
Free Throws Made |
Derrick Rose 5 |
|
LeBron James 3 |
Steals |
Joakim Noah 2 |
|
Chris Bosh 4 |
Blocks |
Joakim Noah 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Miami
|
83 |
39.4 |
6-15 |
25-33 |
12 |
42 |
8 |
7 |
17 |
| Chicago
|
80 |
35.8 |
7-22 |
15-21 |
18 |
45 |
7 |
8 |
10 |
Upcoming Games
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Miami will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Heat have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
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