After losing to the Bulls in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals, the Heat understood that this series won’t be easy. Dwyane Wade stated that this was the first real adversity they have faced in the playoffs, and that he was eager to see how the Heat would respond.
The response came on Tuesday night in Game 2 and it was booming.
LeBron James shook off a lazy start to Game 1 and lead the Heat to a dominating 115-78 victory over Chicago in a game full of pushing, shoving, fouling, and a total of 9 technical fouls and 2 ejections. The two teams were neck-and-neck until the beginning of the second half, when the Heat blew the game wide open, establishing a big lead and ending with their biggest postseason win in franchise history, while for the Bulls it was the worst postseason loss.
The Heat got 19 points and 9 assists from Lebron James, along with 21 points from Ray Allen and 15 points from Dwyane Wade, and at one point led by as many as 46 points. For the Bulls, Marco Bellineli had 13 points and Joakim Noah added another 12 points and 6 rebounds in a game where Chicago went ice cold on offense in the second half, especially in the 3rd quarter where they hit just 4 of their 17 shots.
The Bulls were called for six technical fouls in the game and had Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson ejected in the fourth quarter. Many illegal things were said and done that will be reviewed by the league in a game that at some points felt more like a street ball game rather than an NBA match up.
"Sometimes, it's going to be very physical," Dwyane Wade said. "But it's the playoffs."
The foul and technical parade started at the very beginning of the game, when Robinson was pushed hard by Udonis Haslem. Dwyane Wade was then called for a technical on the next possession for throwing the ball at Belinelli, who hammered Wade on his way to a lay-up. Miami played with poise and desperation as they absolutely had to win this game at home, while the Bulls tried to keep Miami from establishing a rhythm.
James seemed determined to lead his team to that victory. His start was nothing like the one in Game 1, making all of his 6 shot attempts in the first quarter where the Heat built a 25-20 lead. "We did a pretty good job," James said. "I wanted to be aggressive."
The rest of the half was dominated by physical play, many trips to the line and dog-fighting between two teams that raise the intensity to high levels every time they meet. Although Nate Robinson, who had LeBron James assigned to him on offense, finished with just 11 points and Carlos Boozer with 8, Chicago managed to maintain a manageable deficit, ending the half at 55-41.
But the Heat were about to hit them hard in the second half.
Miami scored 62 points in a stretch from the late minutes of the first half to the end of the game, while the Bulls scored only 20. The Heat dominated everywhere, out-rebounding the Bulls 41-28, shooting 60 percent while the Bulls shot 36, committing only 7 turnovers while the Bulls had 28. The only stat line where the Bulls had an edge was the technical fouls, 6-3.
"We got sidetracked and you can't do that," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We allowed frustration to carry over to the next play. … You come in here, you're not going to get calls. That's reality."
The Bulls could not get anything going in the game. They couldn’t deliver offensively, they never had a rhythm and they tried to stop Miami playing tough, fouling hard in an attempt to make the Heat lose their cool. It was the Bulls though, who lost anything that was left of their composure in the fourth quarter.
Miami ended up claiming a great victory over the Bulls, but there is still a lot of way to go as the series are tied at 1-1. "No matter if you win by 20, 30, or one point, it's a 1-1 series," Heat star LeBron James said. "They came in and did their job. They got one on our floor and took home court. So, we've got to try to go to Chicago and get it back."
And that’s what they will try to do on Friday night, when the Bulls host the Heat at the Madhouse on Madison in Chicago.