There will be two Game 4s on Monday night, with the Miami Heat visiting the Chicago Bulls and the Memphis Grizzlies hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Heat and Grizzlies are both seeking to take commanding 3-1 series leads on their opponents.
NBA playoff schedule 2013: Heat, Grizzlies aim for commanding 3-1 series leads
The Heat will look to take a 3-1 series lead against the Bulls on Monday, while the Grizzlies will try and do the same against the Thunder.
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The Heat and Bulls kick off the night at 7 p.m. ET on TNT. After losing Game 1 of the series, Miami has won two straight, including a hard fought 104-94 victory in Game 3 on Friday. LeBron James struggled for much of the game after getting shoved by Nazr Mohammed, but the MVP stepped up big in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 of his 25 points in the final frame. Chris Bosh had 20 points and 19 rebounds, while Norris Cole added 18 points off the bench.
Chicago stayed close throughout the game before fading at the very end. Carlos Boozer had 21 points as all five starters scored in double figures. Joakim Noah added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau was not pleased with the officiating after the game, voicing his displeasure and calling out James for flopping when he was shoved by Mohammed. That came after a chippy Game 2 that saw Noah and Taj Gibson get ejected for arguing with the refs.
Chicago will likely be short-handed once again, as Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich are all expected to be out.
Over in the Western Conference, the Grizzlies will be looking for their third straight win over the Thunder at 9:30 p.m. on TNT. Memphis came up big down the stretch of an 87-81 Game 3 victory, scoring the last six points of the game on free throws. Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 20 points, while Mike Conley hit some clutch free throws and took a key charge after being the hero in Game 2.
For the Thunder, Kevin Durant will want to rebound after declining down the stretch of the Game 3 loss. Durant scored 25 points in the contest, but he managed just two in the fourth while also uncharacteristically missing two big free throws. Durant will also need more help from his teammates, especially Serge Ibaka who's shooting just 30.8 percent in the series.
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