Bulls vs. Heat: Miami completes Game 5 comeback, advances to conference finals

After going into the locker room to get re-taped, the superstar displayed the kind of toughness his Bulls opponents are known for. Wade came on strong late, grabbing three rebounds and going 3-for-3 for six points, including the final, game-clinching dunk.

More than the flashy plays, he showed that he’s still one of the game’s true closers by scoring the Heat’s last three field goals. It just so happened that the highlight-reel play capped off a brilliant sequence that sealed the win. His two Euro-step moves before that were just as impressive, and even drew the attention of the league’s best player.

Wade’s tip-dunk, easily the play of the game, is worth another look:

For Miami, it took a balanced effort to conquer the Bulls. Four of the five starters scored in double figures, led by LeBron James’ 23 points. He just 5-of-13 from the field, but mitigated those issues by making 12-of-15 free throws. Wade was clutch down the stretch after struggling with his knee injury in the first half, finishing with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists.

It looked like the game was going to get out of hand early, as Miami went on a 22-4 run to start the game. The Bulls responded by toughening up on defense and refocusing on their identity. Miami shot 61 percent from the field and committed just two turnovers in the first frame. The Bulls, on the other hand, turned the ball over five times, resulting in 10 easy points for the Heat.

Our own Jason Patt wrote up a Game 5 preview and asked some important questions:

• The Maloofs made their own uncomfortable beds

• Flannery: The Pacers are happening

The banged-up Bulls started the game 1-of-12 and were simply never able to get on track. Their 65 points and 25.7 percent shooting were franchise playoff-lows.

Here are three key questions heading into this possible elimination game.

But the Bulls’ troubles ran deeper than missing open shots.

Miami’s defense deserves plenty of credit here. The Heat essentially beat the Bulls at their own game: attacking the ball handler in the pick-and-roll to force turnovers and start fast breaks. No team is beating Miami when it’s able to get in transition, and the 19 fast-break points were a major reason Game 4 was a blowout.

Dealing with ongoing knee issues that have plagued him throughout the postseason, Wade could badly use some time off to prepare for the next round of the playoffs. Though the Heat still need to win a fourth game to advance, they’re seemingly in a position of power with the undermanned Bulls struggling badly in recent games.

• Flannery: The Pacers are happening

This wasn’t reminiscent of any of the first three games in this series. One was a Bulls win. One was a hard-fought loss. One was a blowout, but the Bulls still managed to dish out some licks, exert their physicality, and generally show that the scoreline didn’t indicate the fight.

It just wasn’t there for the Bulls on Monday. The drive to win against outrageous odds, the fight, the friendly rolls, the luck, the gutsy performances from random role players -- nothing. A massive regression to the mean seemed likely for a Bulls squad that had been outperforming expectations game after game, but it was still brutal to watch in real time. The team shot 25.7 percent, just 2-for-17 from three, and turned the ball over 17 times against 19 field goals made. Their 65 points on the night was their lowest in franchise playoff history.

Kevin Zimmerman asked three questions about the game - here’s some early answers.

The Bulls tried to let him, but it didn’t really follow through. Boozer wasn’t overwhelmingly aggressive, and missed two of his first nine shots, more commonly your typical Carlos Boozer high-arcer over a defender than bullheaded drives to the hoop.

Wade would check in after resting for a few minutes, but we’ll see if the injury continues to bother him.

Wade has already missed playing time when a bone bruise in his right knee hurt him, but never when it was crucial: he missed time towards the end of the year and in the Milwaukee series, which Miami already led 3-0 with wins in convincing fashion. Wade hasn’t been performing particularly well -- he’s averaging just 13.3 points on the playoffs, well under his average of 21.2 points in the regular season and 24.7 for his career, and its not clear if the knee is causing that. He was 0-for-4 with two turnovers at the time of his injury.

The Thunderdome-feel of Chicago Stadium might have died now almost two decades ago, but the United Center still knows what it’s doing. It’s gigantic for a basketball stadium, a point justified by years of consecutive sell-outs and amplified during the playoffs. The United Center can still get very loud, and it does when the Bulls are in the postseason. They still know how to announce the starters.

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Suddenly the Bulls are on their heels despite being the bigger bully in this series -- no pun intended. Here are three questions that must be asked heading into Monday’s Game 4 in the United Center. The answers will lend evidence to whether the Bulls can tie the series or if the Heat will be looking at a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Keeping the Miami freight train from gaining steam has been done in Games 1 and 3, but in Game 2 the Heat got chugging along and there was no stopping them. While it’s not a sure bet Chicago can pull out fourth-quarter games against Miami, their forte is winning strings of defensive possessions whereas Miami’s is in putting down backbreaking runs before playing defense in the final five minutes of the game. The Heat aren’t bad at all under such pressures, but the Bulls can’t have it all. A little luck is needed, and to get it, they’ll need to keep their eyes out for Miami roundhouse kicks. Controlling the tempo is key.

Sunday marked one year since Rose underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered in the first round of last year’s postseason. Rose now sits outside the eight-to-12 month period outlined for his rehab, but it appears that he remains content to sit out the season and return next year.

Rose has come under fire for not returning to the court despite being cleared to play nearly three months ago. He has reportedly been dominating in practice, but he maintains that he’s not ready to test his knee out in an actual game. The former MVP has said he’s still trying to regain his “muscle memory” and wants to be able to play without thinking too much on the court.

Deng attempted to practice twice over the weekend, but he had to cut it short both times. The Bulls’ All-Star forward told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that his body is not reacting well to any sort of physical activity:

Deng came down with an illness prior to Game 6 against the Nets and he had a spinal tap done to test for viral meningitis. The spinal tap came back negative, but complications resulted in leaking spinal fluid and required a “blood patch” to fix things up. Deng has lost 15 pounds since then and has been dealing with bad headaches, among other issues.

Here are three key questions heading into Game 3 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) at the United Center.

The Bulls don’t have the talent to keep up with top-notch offenses, so to have a chance they need to find a way to slow down Miami’s attack in Game 3. Tom Thibodeau may be the best defensive-minded coach in the NBA, so if anyone can scheme against LeBron, it’s him.

• Joakim Noah: flicked off, flirting with death

• Rose might be scared, and that’s OK

Deng suffered complications and lost 15 pounds after receiving a spinal tap last week, and he is simply too weak to play. Hinrich underwent a second MRI on bruised calf, as it has not been responding well to treatment.

• Joakim Noah: flicked off, flirting with death

Through two games, there have actually been more fouls called against Miami (48) than Chicago (47). When you factor in Chicago’s physical style of defense and Miami’s proven ability to draw fouls (the Heat ranked No. 8 in free throw attempts per field goal attempt this season), it’s not a noteworthy split.

In sum, Thibodeau is likely trying to put the officiating under a microscope and motivate his team to execute on defense heading into a huge contest. He would almost certainly prefer the referees to swallow their whistles on Friday night and let his defenders bang James and Wade around a bit in the paint. Needless to say, it will be interesting to see how Game 3 is called and how Bulls players respond to the officiating.

via ESPN Chicago:

via @cjzero

Scary news from Chicago, where Luol Deng detailed his body’s frightening reaction to a spinal tap, which has caused him to lose 15 pounds and will probably keep him from playing basketball for the immediate future.

Deng had the spinal tap taken to test for meningitis when he had the flu, but complications developed, and he had to watch Game 1 from the hospital. Hearing Deng describe the situation is pretty frightening:

The Miami Heat’s offense was stuck in neutral in Game 1 against the Chicago Bulls on Monday. It was anything but in Game 2 on Wednesday. Miami scored 115 points, shattering the vaunted Bulls’ defense in order to tie the series at one game apiece.

We know Miami is capable of doing that against anybody, so it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that it happened against the Bulls. But what could possibly explain the huge difference in the Heat’s offense between Games 1 and 2?

The Heat took control midway through the first half and never looked back, taking a 14-point edge into halftime before blowing Chicago out. Miami shot an absurd 60 percent from the floor, including 9 of 18 from behind the the three-point arc.

Chicago, on the other hand, just couldn’t get anything to fall. Part of that was a vastly improved defensive showing from Miami, although the Bulls missed a handful of shots they probably should’ve made. They made just 35 percent of their shot attempts and scored 18 points in the paint after scoring 40 in Game 1. Chicago had just two fast break points.

That means the Bulls will again face the Heat with limited options, although it didn’t hurt them in a Game 1 upset win.

Chicago won Game 1 behind 27 points and nine assists from Robinson, who is expected to see some defensive attention from James, according to the AP’s Tim Reynolds.