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It may be a first. Not the basket that John Lucas III floated over LeBron James, who was guarding him; Lucas has made shots like that before. But what the Chicago Bulls guard said of the Miami Heat’s superstar who is 6-8 to Lucas’s 5-11.
A photo of Luvabulls dancer Asia or one of John Lucas? Can't win 'em all, John.
“Just another guy,” Lucas said in the locker room after scoring a team-high 24 points Wednesday night at the United Center in a 106-102 victory that teammate Derrick Rose, the NBA’s reigning MVP, watched in coat and tie on the bench because of injury.
Just another guy? LeBron?
No disrespect intended, but James is not just another guy.
OK, you probably can figure out what Lucas was saying with no disrespect intended. James did score 35 points and Dwayne Wade 36 for Miami. The duo combined to shoot 30-of-51 from the field, while the rest of the Heat went 8-for-34. Included was a 3-for-15 performance by Chris Bosh.
“He was the spearhead of the bench mob,” King James said of Lucas, who floated the fourth-quarter basket over him. “And they had 60 points, spearheaded by him and Taj [Gibson, 8 points, 8 rebounds] and [Kyle] Korver [12 points] and those guys. Jimmy Butler [8 points], all of them, they played good basketball. Everybody’s in the NBA for a reason. You can’t disrespect guys. They took advantage of it.”
Actually, the Bulls’ bench scored 56 points to 15 for the Heat’s bench. But no one is going to quibble with James, who had two fourth-quarter points on 1-of-3 from the field. Wade had 19 of the Heat’s fourth-quarter points on 8-of-9 from the field. Lucas had 11 points (4-of-7) in the final quarter.
“We tried to make him play in a crowd,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said of James. A couple of times we went after him to get the ball out of his hands. … The thing about LeBron and what he does not get credit for is he can beat you with the shot and beat you with the pass.”
The Heat, which trailed by 17 late in the third quarter, closed to within 104-102 with 6.0 seconds left before Lucas — whom Miami cut from its team — made two free throws for the game’s final points.
“He is a good, tough-minded player,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I don’t know how many times he has been cut. … I’ve seen him cut, then keep working to get back when I was in Houston. It’s just a great story line and example for other players.”
Perhaps the most unheralded Bull was Carlos Boozer, who had two points on 1-of-4 from the foor. He led the team with five assists and tied for the team lead with eight rebounds. The Bulls outrebounded Miami 50-34 and posted 50 or more rebounds for a league-best 15 times (the Los Angeles Lakers are second with nine times).
“We’re just rebounding the ball, hitting them hard on the glass, and it paid off,” Gibson said.
To draw any conclusions from the victory may be getting carried away with things. After all, the regular season and postseason are two different games. Player rotations shrink, style of play can change. No back-to-back games (the Heat was coming off a loss to Orlando).
So, for the most part, it was just another victory. Just as, for Lucas’ part, LeBron was just another guy on the court.
For those Bulls fans who want to get carried away, may we suggest the Luvabulls’ halftime performance dedicated to divas (not the basketball-playing variety, thank you, but the musical kind):
Maybe Staci Boyer will wear this outfit to "Sports & Torts."
Scheduled to appear on “Sports & Torts” with David Spada and Elliott Harris on Thursday (March 15) Chicago time in the talkzone.com studio is figure competitor, trainer, author and motivational speaker — among other skills — Staci Boyer. Also on the program will be former college coach Lefty Driesell and former NBA player and coach Richie Guerin. The show also will be available on podcast at talkzone.com later in the day.
To become part of the show by becoming an advertiser, you should contact David Spada at david@injuryinillinois.com.
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