Bulls at Heat
THE STORY: Chris Bosh had his best game of the postseason Sunday as the Miami Heat took a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference final. Bosh and the Heat look to continue their solid stretch of play as they welcome Derrick Rose and the Bulls in Game 3 on Tuesday night. Chicago has dropped two straight games for the first time since early February.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE HEAT: After a modest regular season and a quiet second-round series against the Boston Celtics, Bosh has suddenly emerged as the biggest threat on a team with three of them. The 6-foot-10 power forward made 13 of his final 16 shots in Sunday's 96-85 victory in front of a raucous crowd at American Airlines Arena. Bosh finished with 34 points in the victory, nearly as many as superstar teammates LeBron James (22) and Dwyane Wade (17) had between them. Even more satisfying for Bosh was that he did most of his damage against Bulls counterpart Carlos Boozer, who suggested prior to the series that Bosh wasn't a star.
ABOUT THE BULLS: Rose needed plenty of help Sunday - and he didn't get nearly enough. The league MVP struggled from the field as the Heat routinely double-teamed him, preventing him from driving to the basket. He and Boozer both shot 8 for 19 on the night, part of a 41-percent shooting performance from a team that is struggling to keep up offensively with the Heat. The team defense took a hit as well, with reserve center Omer Asik leaving the game in the second half with a strained muscle in his left leg. Asik, who is one of the Bulls' top defenders off the bench, did not return to the game and his status for Game 4 is up in the air.
WHO'S HOT/WHO'S NOT: Wade struggled in Game 3. His 6-for-17 effort from the field was his worst of the playoffs, and the 17 points marked his fewest since Game 2 of the Heat's first-round series with Philadelphia. Bulls F Taj Gibson continues to sizzle from the floor, going 5 of 6 on Sunday and 31 for 45 over his last seven contests.
KEY STATISTIC: 39-5 - Miami's record when Bosh, Wade and James combine for 70 or more points. They had 73 on Sunday, their first time over the 70-point plateau since Game 5 of their second-round series with Boston.
LAST WORD: James has two zero-turnover games so far in the playoffs. He had just one game without a turnover in 79 regular-season outings.