Heat 94, Bulls 91
LeBron James had 23 points and eight assists and Miami used a strong fourth quarter to overcome visiting Chicago to win the Eastern Conference semifinal series 4-1.
Dwyane Wade scored 18 points for the Heat, who trailed by eight after three quarters before outscoring the Bulls 25-14 over the final 12 minutes. Miami will face the winner of the Indiana-New York series in the Eastern Conference finals.
Carlos Boozer had 26 points and 14 rebounds, Nate Robinson scored 21 points and Jimmy Butler added 19 for Chicago. Robinson missed a tying 3-point attempt with 15 seconds left and Butler missed an open 3-point look with one second remaining as the Bulls lost the final four games after winning the opener.
The Heat trailed by 11 late in the third quarter and overtook the Bulls on a dunk by Norris Cole for an 84-83 lead with 5:50 remaining. A putback dunk by Wade made it 93-86 with 3:01 left and Chicago crept within three on Robinson’s 3-pointer with 1:43 left – the final points of the contest.
Miami opened up an early 18-2 lead before Chicago cut the deficit to nine at the end of the first quarter. The Bulls took their first lead at 38-36 on Butler’s 3-pointer with 4:46 left in the half and led 53-47 at the break.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Miami has won 45 of its last 48 games. … F Luol Deng (complications from a spinal tap) and PG Kirk Hinrich (calf) again sat out for the Bulls. Both players missed the entire series. … Richard Hamilton added 15 points for Chicago, while Chris Bosh (12) and Udonis Haslem (10) also scored in double digits for the Heat.