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3:30 P.M.: Bulls Hope To Tie Series Vs. Cavs, Surprise Us All
Preview courtesy of Sports Network.
The top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers hope to bounce back from a tough Game 3 loss and regain control of their Eastern Conference quarterfinals set with the upstart Chicago Bulls this afternoon.
The Bulls got back into the set on Thursday when Derrick Rose scored 31 points and Kirk Hinrich stepped up with 27, as Chicago held on for a 108-106 victory over Cleveland.
Chicago made just 4-of-8 foul shots in the final 30 seconds and nearly lost an eight-point lead to a barrage of Cleveland three-pointers. Yet, in the Cavs' final mad dash for an insurmountable series lead, the ball found its way into Anthony Parker's hands, not LeBron James. Parker collected a rebound off a missed free throw and did not have time to find James. Instead, he missed a halfcourt heave at the horn.
Luol Deng added 20 points and Joakim Noah notched a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds for the Bulls, who now trail the best-of-seven series, 2-1.
"They just kept coming at us," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "Cleveland is so difficult to guard when LeBron is coming at you like that. We just had to find a way to battle."
James led Cleveland with 39 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and Mo Williams added 21 points. The duo took 42 shots -- over half of Cleveland's 82 team attempts. Antawn Jamison registered a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds in defeat.
“We did clean up what we wanted to do from Game 2 to Game 3,” James said. “They made adjustments, we made adjustments, but they were able to knock down some open shots.”
Chicago and Cleveland split a four-game regular season series this year but the last Bulls win came when the Cavs had shut it down and were resting James.
Since the NBA changed its playoff format in 1984, there have only been three occasions when a No. 8 seed has shocked a No. 1, and its only happened once in the Eastern Conference when Miami stunned New York in a five-game set back in 1999. The last time an eight topped a No. 1 was in 2007 when Golden State upended Dallas in 2007.
These two Central Division rivals were regular postseason opponents during the Michael Jordan-era with the Bulls taking five straight series between 1987-88 and 1993-94.
Game 5 of the best-of-seven set is scheduled for Tuesday back in Cleveland.
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