CHICAGO—This wasn’t about being dominated on the boards, shaky shooting, too much isolation offense.
The Miami Heat solved those problems in Wednesday’s Game Two of the Eastern Conference finals against the Chicago Bulls.
No, this 85-75 Heat victory was the essence of playoff basketball, the make-or-break moments that can define a series.
Blown out in Sunday’s Game One, the Heat this time got key late scoring from forward LeBron James and lockdown defense to take this best-of-seven series back to AmericanAirlines Arena for Sunday’s Game Three tied 1-1.
With James scoring 29 points on 12-of-21 shooting, Dwyane Wade adding 24 and Udonis Haslem providing unexpected inspiration off the bench with 13 points and five rebounds, the Heat erased the sting of Sunday’s series-opening 103-82 loss to steal home-court advantage.
It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t pretty, but with the rebounding problem eliminated by Haslem’s energy, James regaining his shooting stroke and the Heat less reliant on isolation scoring, a mere 21 points from guard Derrick Rose weren’t enough for Chicago.
With the Heat limited to a single basket over a seven-minute span at the start of the fourth quarter by a Bulls defense living up to its league-best reputation, the game turned downright bloody with 4:36 to play, when Wade and Bulls backup center Omer Asik had to be treated for bleeding wounds after an earlier collision.
Out of that break, James converted a three-pointer with 4:28 to play for a 76-73 Heat lead. Point guard Mike Bibby then came up with his own defensive moment, blocking a Luol Deng shot in transition.
James followed with a jumper with 3:15 to play for a 78-73 Heat lead.
Bulls forward Kyle Korver then rimmed out a three-pointer, but James was called for traveling on the other end.
That’s when Game One dunking star Taj Gibson scored inside to bring Chicago within 78-75 with 2:29 to play.
Wade then earned his way to the line with 2:06 to play, his foul shots putting the Heat up 80-75.
The Heat held on from there.
The Heat opened the fourth quarter with the lineup they essentially had waited an entire season to unveil, with Wade and Mike Miller in the backcourt, James and Haslem at forward and Bosh at center.
Miller’s preseason thumb injury and Haslem’s early-season foot injury scuttled those plans for nearly six months.
Competitive for a rare time in a third quarter against the Bulls, the Heat moved to a 71-65 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Efficiency out of the halftime break set up as a prime challenge entering the night.
In the teams’ previous four meetings, including this series’ opener, the Bulls had outscored the Heat, 99-62, in the third quarter.
This time, with James and Wade continuing to provide pressure and Haslem continuing to inspire off the bench, the Heat avoided the third-quarter lull that essentially decided Game One.
With Haslem, in his first extended minutes since late November foot surgery, providing two third-quarter slams, the Heat used an 8-0 run midway through the quarter to move ahead, 65-56.
Earlier, with Wade and James stepping up their offense, the Heat moved to a 48-46 halftime lead.
Down seven at the end of the opening period, the Heat worked back into the lead with Wade scoring 17 points in the first half and James 14.
In early foul trouble, with two centers forced to the bench midway through the opening period, Heat trailed 26-19 at the end of the opening period.
The foul trouble had Heat coach Erik Spoelstra mixing and matching lineups to the point that Haslem, Miller and Juwan Howard all received early minutes, with the Heat going 11 deep in the opening period.
The first quarter ended with Bulls forward Luol Deng tossing in a halfcourt three-pointer. Deng led all scorers with nine first-quarter points.
The start was eerily similar to the Heat’s Game One loss, with the Bulls pounding them early on the offensive glass.
Chicago stood in an early 8-8 tie despite standing two-of-14 from the field at that stage. The Bulls later fell to two-of-16 from the field at the start.
The Heat’s depth was tested early, with starting center Joel Anthony forced to the bench with 6:36 to play in the opening period. Jamaal Magloire then entered only to be forced to the bench with his second foul with 4:37 to play in the opening period.
That had Spoelstra turning to Haslem far earlier than expected.
In his televised interview at the end of the opening period, Spoelstra acknowledged Chicago’s early passion.
“The first thing is we have to weather the storm,” he said. “It’s an emotional burst right now. We have not gotten into the game we’ve wanted to, but we’ve got a lot of time to change that.”
The Bulls entered coming off Sunday’s 103-82 victory in the series opener.
The Heat entered 0-2 this season when coming off losses of 20 or more points. According to Elias Sports Bureau, each of the previous 23 teams that lost Game One of a best-of-seven playoff series by more than 20 points had lost that series.
The series next shifts to AmericanAirlines Arena for Sunday’s Game Three and Tuesday’s Game Four.
James ‘happy’ for Cavs
The last time the Cleveland Cavaliers exited the National Basketball Association Draft lottery with the No. 1 overall pick, they selected hometown hero James in 2003.
The marriage lasted seven eventful seasons, until James’s free-agent parting to the Miami Heat last summer.
On Tuesday, while waiting for Wednesday’s Game Two of the Eastern Conference finals against the Chicago Bulls, James watched as the Cavaliers again exited the 2011 lottery with the top overall selection.
“I’m happy for the franchise, I’m happy for the fans,” he said. “I think it is a good step for them.
“But I’ve got a lot more things to worry about now than the lottery.”
While the Cavaliers’ top pick isn’t expected to arrive as the next Chosen One, James appreciates there will be considerable expectations.
The expected No. 1 overall pick is Duke freshman guard Kyrie Irving, who is represented by Miami-based agent Jeffrey Wechsler, a Heat season-ticket holder.
“If it’s Kyrie, I don’t think you automatically place the franchise tag on him,” James said on Wednesday, “but I think he’s good enough where, if he continues to work hard, he could be that guy for that team.
“It’s a tough situation for anyone to be given the franchise tag as soon as they come out of college or high school, but I think he’s one of the kids who is up for the challenge.”
While James arrived directly from high school, Irving would arrive nearly as raw, limited to 11 college games by a foot injury.
“But I think the experience that you get from being around college probably helped him,” James said of the time under Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. “He played 11 games, but I think the experience, more than anything, being around Coach K, being around that campus, being around those veteran players that they had, I think it helps him.”
In Photo: Lebron James bucks a cold that he said affected his ability to sleep and limited his energy, powering the Heat to a huge victory. (AP)
