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NBA -- Heat take commanding 3-1 lead


PhilBoxing.com




CHICAGO -- The Miami Heat won the opening tip and never looked back, winning the game 88-65 and taking a 3-1 lead over the Bulls for the series.

The first quarter started out rough for the Bulls, who shot at a mere 27.3%, making only six of 22 shots. Free throws were a different story, where the Bulls made all three of their free throw opportunities, but that did not help the Bulls keep up with the Heat who scored 22 points in the quarter. Nate Robinson left the first quarter with nothing to show for his six attempts, while the Heat's Chris Bosh scored 10.

With a stunned and silent crowd, the second quarter did not fare much better for the Bulls. The most exciting part of the second quarter for the Bulls crowd was the return of Richard " Rip" Hamilton to the floor. Unfortunately, even with Rip's return, the Bulls only added 18 points to their total, shooting at a mere 26.3%. Meanwhile, LeBron James came in roaring in the second quarter scoring 15 points, followed by Chris Bosh who tagged on an extra 12 points for the Heat. The Bulls left the floor for the half down 33-44 with a lot of work to do in the second half.

As if the first half wasn't bad enough for the Bulls, their scoring in the third quarter dropped even more to a dismal 15.4%. The Bulls only scored a total of nine points in the third, with only three players, Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah, and Marco Belinelli scoring at all. The Heat did not follow suit, and came away with 17 points in the third quarter.

With seemingly no shots going in, the Bulls fans cheered their loudest in the beginning minutes of the fourth quarter. This brief sense of hope quickly disappeared as the Bulls continued to miss shots. Scoring only 25.7% of their shots throughout the game, the Bulls set a new record low, previously 31.1% against the bad boy Piston's in 1990, for the franchise in shooting percentage during the playoffs.

With three minutes left in the game, the Bulls crowd had already drastically cleared out of the United Center. The Bulls finished the game setting another franchise playoff record low with only 65 points. With a final score of 88-65 the Heat came away not only with a win and 3-1 lead over the Bulls for the series, but with a ton of confidence as they head home for Game 5. All the Bulls can hope for is another game like they had back in Miami in Game 1. Without that type of game, it looks as though the Bulls season may be over.

The Bulls always have a chance though, and the Heat are in no way undermining the talent the Bulls possess. As Erik Spoelstra stated in his post game news conference, "We have to go in [to Game 5] with a mindset to approach this game with desperation and urgency. This team is far too dangerous as we have seen. This team will come to grind it out." (KB)

Photo: A vanquished Bulls team faces elimination after Miami took a commanding 3-1 series lead Monday night at the United Center.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Katrina Barnett.


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