Associated Press
CHICAGO — LeBron James came up big down the stretch and scored 29 points, Dwyane Wade added 24 and the Miami Heat beat the Chicago Bulls 85-75 Wednesday night to tie the Eastern Conference finals at one game apiece.
The Heat can breathe a little easier after escaping with a win and stealing home-court advantage. Coming off a lopsided loss in Game 1, they recovered down the stretch after blowing an 11-point lead to pull even in the series.
James shook off a brutal opener and scored nine points over the final 4:27, starting with a 3-pointer that put Miami ahead for good, 76-73. He also had 10 rebounds, and Miami outrebounded the Bulls 45-41 after getting pounded 45-33 on the glass in the opener.
Despite battling a head cold, it was big turnaround after he managed just 15 points on 5-for-15 shooting while being harassed by Luol Deng in Game 1.
“I put it all on the line on the line tonight and did whatever it took for our team to win,” James said.
Game 3 is Sunday in Miami.
Wade also looked more like a superstar after scoring 18 on Sunday. Udonis Haslem provided a spark off the bench with 13 points, and the Heat beat the Bulls for the first time this season even though Chris Bosh scored just 10 after pouring in 30 in the opener.
Derrick Rose led Chicago with 21 points but scored just two in the fourth quarter. Deng, the only other Bulls player in double figures, added 13 but had just four after the opening period.
Joakim Noah had nine points but only eight rebounds. Taj Gibson provided a spark in the fourth quarter, scoring all of his eight points. Carlos Boozer, however, was a non-factor with seven points and eight rebounds.
The Bulls missed countless layups and got outshot 47.1 percent to 34.1 percent. They were just 3 of 20 on 3-pointers and 16 of 26 at the foul line while getting beat on the glass.
They had no answer for James down the stretch, either, and came up short when it looked like they might find a way to pull this one out.
The Heat led by 11 late in the third, only to see the Bulls wipe it all out all in the fourth, with Gibson providing a big spark.
He cut it to 71-69 early in the fourth with back-to-back jumpers for his first points of the game, pumping both arms after the second shot went in.
Then, he tied it at 73 with 7:16 left after Haslem lost the ball out of bounds, drawing more roars from the crowd, but the teams traded misses for about three minutes before James put Miami ahead with a 3. Then, he scored again with 3:15 left to make it 78-73.
Gibson delivered a slam over three defenders and got fouled by Wade, the same guy he delivered a poster-worthy dunk on in Game 1, to make it a three-point game with 2:29 left, but missed the free throw.
James then put back his own miss and nailed a jumper to make it 84-75 with 47.3 seconds left.
The Heat looked like they were ready to pull away in the third, going on a 10-0 run after Rose hit two free throws to cut it to 57-56 with 5:14 left.
Haslem blocked Deng and dunked on Keith Bogans for a three-point play to start the run.
James then stole a pass from Noah and broke the other way for a three-point play, then picked off another by Deng, leading to a layup for Wade. Haslem threw down another vicious fast-break dunk on Rose to finish the run, crashing to the court as the lead reached 11, but the Bulls answered with six straight to stay in it.
The Heat got 17 points from Wade in the first half, 14 from James and hit 17 of 33 shots. Even so, they were only up 48-46.
One reason: turnovers. They committed nine in the half, leading to 11 points for the Bulls.
Deng also got off to a good start for Chicago, scoring nine in the first quarter. He started and ended a 12-1 run late in the period with dunks, turning a 14-9 deficit into a 21-15 lead.
His most impressive shot, though? That was at the end of the quarter.
Miami’s Mike Miller had just scored on a layup after Gibson blocked a driving Juwan Howard, when Deng launched a 41-footer from the right side that swished threw the net as the buzzer sounded, making it 26-19 and sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Notes: Sporting various piercings and tattoos, incoming Hall-of-Famer Dennis Rodman presented the game ball to a loud ovation before the opening tip. … The Heat stuck with their Game 1 lineup and held out Erick Dampier, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Dexter Pittman again. … Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau doesn’t buy the idea that the Heat are essentially playing three on 10. “They have some good players on that bench,” he said. “I had the opportunity to coach Juwan Howard. I know how good he is. Eddie House, I know how good he is. Haslem, he’s been a terrific player for a long time in this league. Chalmers, a lot of people think Chalmers is a starter. Mike Miller, they’ve got good players. Ilgauskas has played in a ton of games. They have a lot of weapons. That’s a good team. Their record is not an accident.” Boozer had made 22 straight free throws before missing his first attempt early in the first quarter. … The Bears’ Julius Peppers got a loud ovation and waved to the crowd when he was shown during a first-quarter timeout. … The Bulls missed their first nine field before Keith Bogans nailed a 3 and scored on a fast-break layup.