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The Miami Heat with a 27-game winning streak came to Chicago to play the Bulls on Wednesday night (March 27). No Derrick Rose. No Rip Hamilton. No Joakim Noah. No Marco Belinelli. And the Bulls are somehow going to win?
This pretty much says all you need to know about the Bulls-Heat game.
No way.
Way.
The Bulls prevailed 101-97 to end the Heat’s streak, second-longest in NBA history to only the 33-game streak the Los Angeles Lakers compiled in 1971-72.
The Bulls had their way with LeBron James and Co. from the start. The Bulls made 14-of-24 first-quarter field-goal attempts in taking a 32-22 lead after the first 12 minutes. They were 10-of-20 in the second quarter in taking a 55-46 halftime lead.
Then came the third quarter and 6-of-19 shooting, as the Heat closed the deficit to 69-68 heading into the fourth quarter.
All of which set the stage for another Heat comeback for another Heat victory.
Except that did not occur, much to the delight — and surprise — to the crowd of 23,014. The Bulls have won three in a row to match their season high.
“I had everyone come in and put a hand on each other,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of what happened in the locker room after the loss. “It was the first time that I had mentioned the streak. It was a heck of a experience to have together. Its significance will mean much more later to us in our careers. I asked them all to share the moment with each other. However, it has never been about the streak, We have a bigger goal in mind.”
The Bulls were uncharacteristically physical. Kirk Hinrich bear-hugged Heat star James for a first-quarter foul that landed both players on the ground, and Taj Gibson fouled James in the fourth on a play that officials reviewed but did not call a flagrant foul on him.
On the Bulls’ subsequent possession, James was called for a flagrant.
“First of all, Kirk Hinrich in the first quarter basically grabbed me with two hands and brought me to the ground. The last one, Taj Gibson was able to collar me around my shoulder and bring me to the ground. Those are not basketball plays, and it’s been happening all year,” said James, who had a game-high 32 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field and 8-of-11 free throws.
“I’ve been able to keep my cool and try to tell Spo, ‘Let’s not worry about it too much,’ but it is getting to me a little bit.”
“We wanted to come out and make a statement and try to play tough,” said Gibson, who tied a career high with five assists. “It’s two physical teams. Refs did a great job; they let a lot of stuff go. But they knew when to call it at the right time. There was a lot of physicality down there. I’m happy we were able to withstand it.”
“Welcome to Chicago and Miami basketball,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the combative competition.
“Miami is a great team, and you have to play great from start to finish,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said.
The victory clinched a playoff berth for the Bulls, who were led in scoring by Luol Deng (28 points) and Carlos Boozer (21). Jimmy Butler added 14 and Nate Robinson 14.
“Twenty-seven and one in our last 28 ain’t bad,” Miami’s Dwyane Wade (18 points) said. “Now that it’s over, I’m glad that it’s over. See you all in the playoffs.”
Of the influx of ESPN personnel for the nationally televised game, James surveyed the cluster of media around Wade after James’ postgame locker-room session with the folks with cameras, notepads and microphones.
“Beat writers over there,” James joked. “You [other] guys can go back to Bristol [Conn.].”
Some video from the game and postgame:
If it’s Thursday (and the odds are excellent that it is, considering yesterday was Wednesday — provided that you are reading this on March 28, 2013, or a subsequent Thursday), then it is time once again for “Sports & Torts.” The weekly interview show, co-hosted by David Spada and Elliott Harris, is available live at noon Chicago time on talkzone.com.
This week’s guests are former ABA and NBA star George “Iceman” Gervin of the San Antonio Spurs and Amy Haddad, a former IFBB fitness competitor who is a physical therapist in Florida and is turning her athletic talents to masters track.
The show will be available later in the day (and presumably forever) on podcast at Talkzone.com.
Here is some video from her fitness competition days:
Here is where we go for a daily dose of non-gratuitous video (in no small part because the editorial and video departments at elliottharris.com find very little to be classified as gratuitous):
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