Home » Sports » Basketball
Bosh stars as Heat bash Bulls
Source: Agencies |
May 24, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHRIS Bosh discarded his 'Third Man' label to shoot 34 points and lead Miami to a 96-85 win over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, giving the Heat a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference championship series.
The Bulls paid too much attention to the Heat's usual threats - Dwyane Wade and LeBron James - and that allowed more opportunities for Bosh.
The pick and roll between Bosh and Wade was particularly effective for the Miami Heat but the difference between previous wins in the playoffs and this victory was the amount of times Bosh was given looks.
Miami, which is now 7-0 at home in this year's playoffs, was on top from the outset and Bosh, after missing his first three shots, was its key man.
"Bosh was terrific from the start of the game, very aggressive and I thought that we allowed him to get his confidence early," said Bulls coach Tim Thibodeau.
"He is hard to slow down once he gets going like that. We gave him too much space, we didn't challenge his shot properly.
"He had a big night."
With strong defense and Bosh's shooting, Miami never looked in any real danger and led 43-40 at half-time with the Bulls' Derrick Rose failing to make a single assist in the opening two quarters.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra was delighted with Bosh.
"We run a lot of our offense through him regardless of whether he's getting shots or not," said Spoelstra.
"Tonight dictated something else. We needed him to be aggressive. Easy shots and opportunities in this series are hard to come by. He was able to take the pressure off the other guys, to get some baskets, which helped."
James made 22 points for Miami while Carlos Boozer top scored for Chicago with 26 but the Bulls will have to show significant improvement if they are to avoid going 3-1 down in tonight's fourth meeting of the seven-game series.
The Bulls have not lost two games in a row since February but the Heat defense locked them up again. Rose, who scored 20 points in the game, had just two field goal attempts in the fourth quarter.
"We have got to get up and challenge their shots better. We have to finish our defense," said Thibodeau.
The game was tighter though than the scoreline suggests as Miami only broke clear in the latter stages with a 9-0 run including a decisive three-point play from James on a turnover.
"There is absolutely nothing easy in this series and it is all about enduring, sustaining and finding a way to grind it out," said Spoelstra.
"It is a battle, a scrap, a fight every possession.
"The guys did a good job of that and particularly to find a way to break it open in the last five."
Meanwhile, Bulls center Joakim Noah has apologized for an anti-gay slur made to a Miami fan on Sunday.
Noah appeared to make an almost identical comment as the one Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant used to a referee last month - Bryant was fined US$100,000 by the NBA.
"I apologize," Noah told reporters. "The fan said something to me that I thought was disrespectful, and I got caught up in the moment, and I responded. I said some things that I shouldn't have said. I was frustrated and I didn't mean any disrespect."
While NBA officials declined to comment on the incident on Sunday, the league has taken a strong stance since the Bryant incident, which was heavily criticized by gay rights groups.
During Sunday's game, the league broadcast commercials featuring players urging fans not to use slang terms for gays as insults. New York-born Noah is the son of former French tennis player Yannick Noah.
The Bulls paid too much attention to the Heat's usual threats - Dwyane Wade and LeBron James - and that allowed more opportunities for Bosh.
The pick and roll between Bosh and Wade was particularly effective for the Miami Heat but the difference between previous wins in the playoffs and this victory was the amount of times Bosh was given looks.
Miami, which is now 7-0 at home in this year's playoffs, was on top from the outset and Bosh, after missing his first three shots, was its key man.
"Bosh was terrific from the start of the game, very aggressive and I thought that we allowed him to get his confidence early," said Bulls coach Tim Thibodeau.
"He is hard to slow down once he gets going like that. We gave him too much space, we didn't challenge his shot properly.
"He had a big night."
With strong defense and Bosh's shooting, Miami never looked in any real danger and led 43-40 at half-time with the Bulls' Derrick Rose failing to make a single assist in the opening two quarters.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra was delighted with Bosh.
"We run a lot of our offense through him regardless of whether he's getting shots or not," said Spoelstra.
"Tonight dictated something else. We needed him to be aggressive. Easy shots and opportunities in this series are hard to come by. He was able to take the pressure off the other guys, to get some baskets, which helped."
James made 22 points for Miami while Carlos Boozer top scored for Chicago with 26 but the Bulls will have to show significant improvement if they are to avoid going 3-1 down in tonight's fourth meeting of the seven-game series.
The Bulls have not lost two games in a row since February but the Heat defense locked them up again. Rose, who scored 20 points in the game, had just two field goal attempts in the fourth quarter.
"We have got to get up and challenge their shots better. We have to finish our defense," said Thibodeau.
The game was tighter though than the scoreline suggests as Miami only broke clear in the latter stages with a 9-0 run including a decisive three-point play from James on a turnover.
"There is absolutely nothing easy in this series and it is all about enduring, sustaining and finding a way to grind it out," said Spoelstra.
"It is a battle, a scrap, a fight every possession.
"The guys did a good job of that and particularly to find a way to break it open in the last five."
Meanwhile, Bulls center Joakim Noah has apologized for an anti-gay slur made to a Miami fan on Sunday.
Noah appeared to make an almost identical comment as the one Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant used to a referee last month - Bryant was fined US$100,000 by the NBA.
"I apologize," Noah told reporters. "The fan said something to me that I thought was disrespectful, and I got caught up in the moment, and I responded. I said some things that I shouldn't have said. I was frustrated and I didn't mean any disrespect."
While NBA officials declined to comment on the incident on Sunday, the league has taken a strong stance since the Bryant incident, which was heavily criticized by gay rights groups.
During Sunday's game, the league broadcast commercials featuring players urging fans not to use slang terms for gays as insults. New York-born Noah is the son of former French tennis player Yannick Noah.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
