End of game, Heat 85-75: Miami rides a strong performance from LeBron James (29 points, including nine in the fourth) and inspirational play by Udonis Haslem (13 points, three offensive rebounds) to a 10-point victory in a defensive game that was much closer than the score indicates.
Where'd it fall apart for the Bulls? Thirty-four percent shooting from the field (D-Rose was 7-of-23) and — believe it or not — terrible second-half rebounding. After jumping out to a sizeable edge on the boards in the first quarter, Chicago finished with just 41 rebounds to Miami's 45.
Not a good sign for a team that will need to rely on its low-post play to overcome Miami's offensive dynamism. For now, the series is 1-1, with Game 4 slated for Sunday night, 8:30 in South Beach.
Fourth quarter, 1:11, Heat 84-75: LeBron goes off again, now with nine points in the last three minutes. And just like against Boston, Miami's defense has clamped down late in the fourth. Chicago has just two points over the last seven minutes.
Fourth quarter, 2:06, Heat 80-75: D-Wade hits two free throws to lengthen the lead back to five. If Chicago loses, it can blame poor free-throw shooting — 16-of-26 from the charity stripe.
Fourth quarter, 3:14, Heat 78-73: LeBron again, this time a 12-foot jumper to extend Miami's lead. Both teams have been stone-cold in the fourth quarter (Bulls have eight points, Heat just seven).
If Miami can pull out another close fourth quarter, you'd have to say they're officially over the late-game troubles (if they weren't already).
Fourth quarter, 4:10, Heat 76-73: LeBron hits another clutch 3. He's now shooting 44 percent from deep in the last five games.
Fourth quarter, 4:36, Tied 73-73: It's now officially a hard-nosed, defensive, classic-type Eastern Conference Finals game — Omer Asik and Dwyane Wade are both bleeding after a rough collision under the basket. Miami, by the way, hasn't hit a shot in 5 minutes.
Fourth quarter, 6:37, Tied 73-73: Joel Anthony, who's been on the bench since Easter, looks like a kid in timeout. Haslem, meanwhile, who's generally been a beast in the second half, looks drained and has become a liability over the last couple of minutes. Two good examples of poor coaching.
Fourth quarter, 7:53, Heat 73-71: The Bulls have been at their best (all season long) when Rose gets into the paint. He's started doing so in the second half, and it's paying off. Four free throws in the last minute — though he only hit two of 'em.
Fourth quarter, 9:29, Heat 73-69: Get this — Haslem and Taj Gibson are trading baskets.
End of third quarter, Heat 71-65: The Heat lengthen their halftime lead by four, mostly on the back of the unlikeliest hero — Udonis Haslem, who now has 11 points, three offensive rebounds and a block in just 17 minutes.
Third quarter, 1:50, Heat 69-64: 8-2 run for the Bulls on the back of some inspired play by Rose, who's scored four and become more active on the defensive end.
Third quarter, 3:58, Heat 65-56: Defense powers a 13-6 run for Miami, who have held Chicago to just 10 third-quarter points thus far. For the game, the Bulls are a meager 35 percent from the field.
And for the first time in the series, Miami looks like they want it more, beating Chicago to loose balls and rebounds.
Third quarter, 4:43, Heat 60-56: Oh, I forgot about Udonis Haslem.
Third quarter, 5:47, Heat 57-54: A potentially disastrous development for Miami (at least in the context of this game): Joel Anthony's out with four fouls. He's +6 in plus-minus and been the only answer for Chicago's length in the post.
Third quarter, 6:22, Heat 57-52: D-Rose looks reminiscent of his Game 1 performance against the Hawks in the semis: 5-of-15 for 11 points.
Third quarter, 8:07, Heat 54-50: Why does TNT insist on painting Spoelstra as a great coach? Including going so far as to splice his pre-game comments with Miami highlights. We all know he'll be the first person to go if the Heat don't survive this series.
Third quarter, 8:07, Heat 54-50: Miami gives the Bulls a taste of their own medicine, picking up four quick second-chance points. Chicago's rebound advantage has closed to plus-1 (26 to 25).
Third quarter, 9:10, Tied 50-50: Joakim Noah picks up his third foul. Problematic in that he might be the Bulls' biggest matchup advantage on the floor, aside from Rose.
Third quarter, 10:28, Tied 48-48: Rose finally gets one of the long jumpers he's been taking tonight. Doesn't mean he should keep taking 'em. Just 5-of-12 from the field tonight.
End of second quarter, Heat 48-46: Storylines: (1) D-Rose is just 4-of-11 from the field; (2) D-Wade and LeBron have a combined 31 points; (3) Chicago posted nine offensive boards in an ongoing problem for Miami; and Brian Scalabrine has dropped 20 (kidding).
Second quarter, 2:09, Bulls 43-42: Thank gahd, Reggie Miller finally said it: "That's the third or fourth bad call from Jason Phillips." I'd say it's more like five, and the majority have favored Miami.
Celtics fans can relate.
Second quarter, 3:00, Bulls 43-42: No coincidence that Joel Anthony checks into the game for Miami, and they use two straight offensive rebounds to get back within one.
Second quarter, 4:37, Bulls 41-36: More on Korver — he's shooting 48 percent from 3-point land this postseason.
Second quarter, 4:46, Bulls 41-36: Kyle Korver seems to have a knack for hitting big 3's, and that was one of 'em.
(Turnover update: Heat have committed nine, including three from the King.)
Second quarter, 6:18, Tied 34-34: D-Wade and LeBron doing the same thing they did against Boston — trading runs to keep Miami in the game. They've both got 11.
Second quarter, 7:00, Tied 32-32: Feels like the Bulls should be ahead by 10, but they've missed 19 of 30 shots and four of 12 free throws.
Second quarter, 9:44, Bulls 28-24: LeBron's got five quick points in the second quarter to lead a mini 5-2 run. His line thus far: 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
Second quarter, 11:14, Bulls 26-19: Referees starting to let their whistles dictate the action. Three fouls on Chicago in the first 40 seconds of the second quarter. All of them were questionable.
End of first quarter, Bulls 26-19: Luol Deng just hit a buzzer beater from three-quarters length to finish off a nine-point first quarter for the small forward.
To this point, Chicago's length and depth have been the differences.
First quarter, 1:04, Bulls 21-15: Heat, after a 5-8 start from the field, are now 6-14 with six turnovers and just seven rebounds to Chicago's 13.
First quarter, 2:46, Bulls 17-15: Early exit for Derrick Rose, who's picked up two quick fouls (both questionable). Bulls are now 6-20 from the field — and yet have the lead.
First quarter, 4:42, Heat 14-11: Bulls continue their trend of monster dunks on Miami's lack of a low post. This time it's Luol Deng.
First quarter, 5:27, Heat 12-9: Heat overcoming turnovers and poor defensive rebounding with a 5-of-8 mark from the field. LeBron James, nursing a head cold, has got four of those points.
First quarter, 6:36, Tied 8-8: Make that seven offensive rebounds now for Chicago. They're on pace for 56 of them. Of course, it's easier to get offensive boards when you're shooting 2-14.
First quarter, 7:47, Tied 8-8: Mistakes from the Heat (turnovers) and offensive rebounding for the Bulls (five already) get Chicago back to even, despite a 1-10 mark from the field.
First quarter, 9:35, Heat 6-3: Two offensive rebounds already for Chicago. They killed Miami in that category Sunday, pulling down 19 of 'em.
First quarter, 10:42, Heat 2-0: Pick-and-roll for a Chris Bosh dunk opens the night offensively. Bosh was one of the only bright spots for Miami on Sunday, dropping 30.
8:30 p.m.: Words of wisdom from Erik Spoelstra: "It's gotta be 48 minutes." And he really emphasized 48. Dwyane Wade looked mesmerized. #sarcasm
8:08 p.m.: Dennis Rodman is in the house for tonight's Game 2. It's the most normal he's looked in decades.
8:02 p.m.: Taj Gibson says he received so many phone calls/texts after posterizing Dwyane Wade with a monster dunk Sunday that he turned his phone off (Here's the dunk).
7:20 p.m.: LeBron James today says he's been suffering from a "head cold" over the last three days and that he's "taking everything you can get from 7-Eleven."
He expects to start Game 2. Not sure that I've ever heard a player announcing a head cold. Just saying.
8 a.m.: Bulls point guard Derrick Rose apologized after Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
"Careless turnovers," he said after committing three of them in the first five minutes of play Sunday night. "You can't do that against [the Heat]. When they get into the open court, they're too dangerous."
The funny thing is, the Bulls won. Big — 103-82, in fact, after a surge in the third and fourth quarters left Miami wondering what had hit 'em.
Rose's apology, in light of that, is precisely what has this Chicago team riding high. They're accountable, tough and — despite the ever-growing stardom of league MVP Rose — team-centered.
"We're not worried about the praise," said Bulls rebounding fiend Joakim Noah after the Game 1 victory. "We're not worried about the criticism. We're just focused on what we need to do, and we believe in each other."
The Heat, meanwhile, said all the right things after the embarrassing loss. LeBron James pointed out Chicago's 19 offensive rebounds, Chris Bosh noted that the Heat have to distribute the ball better and head coach Erik Spoelstra gave the Bulls their due credit, saying simply, "We took it on the chin tonight."
So far this postseason, Miami has managed to bounce back after tough losses, though the sample size is small — a Game 4 loss to Philadelphia and a Game 3 loss to Boston.
That begs the question: Can the Heat do so against a team that's now 4-0 against them this season? Or will Chicago's post presence and rebounding — an advantage that went to the Heat in the Celtics series — continue to neutralize Miami's Big Three?
I can tell you this much: The Heat better hope Derrick Rose is apologizing Wednesday night for more than a couple of turnovers. Check back here at 8:30 p.m. for full coverage.