CLEVELAND — LeBron James just
missed a triple-double despite an apparently sore right elbow, and the
Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to a playoff date with Boston by beating
Chicago 96-94 in Game 5 on Tuesday night in perhaps Vinny Del Negro's
final game as Bulls coach.
James, favoring a tender right
elbow that appears to hurt worse than he's letting on, scored 19 points —
16 in the second half — and added 10 rebounds and nine assists as the
Cavs finally saddled the stubborn Bulls to win the series 4-1. Unable to
lift his right arm, James was forced to shoot a free throw left-handed
with 7.8 seconds left.
Antawn Jamison scored 25 points
for Cleveland, which will face the Celtics, reuniting teams that don't
like each other and who played a testy seven-game series in 2008.
Game 1 is Saturday.
"A lot of people are saying
they're too old, but we know they're going to come out and give us their
best shot," said Jamison, who was not with the Cavs the last time
Cleveland met Boston in the postseason. "It's going to be a hard-fought
series. It should be fun."
Derrick Rose scored 31 points and
Luol Deng 26 for the Bulls, who had several shots roll in and out in
the final minutes.
Delonte West had 16 points and
Shaquille O'Neal added 14 while racking up fouls against Chicago's big
men.
The Cavs were intent on closing
out the series at home but they couldn't shake the Bulls, who were
trying to send the series back to Chicago for Game 6.
When Jamison buried a 3-pointer
with 3:30 left, Cleveland was up 93-84, and for the first time all night
Cavaliers fans finally started thinking about a matchup with the
Celtics, who eliminated Miami earlier.
The Bulls, though, had other
plans.
Deng hit a jumper and two free
throws before Rose, who made Cleveland defenders look silly all series,
made four straight from the line to pull the Bulls within 93-92 with
1:32 remaining. Two free throws by James then gave Cleveland a
three-point lead with 1:11 left.
Rose then tried a short shot in
the lane that went halfway down before spinning out.
Cleveland's Mo Williams, who
shot a dismal 2 for 13, then missed a baseline runner but the ball went
out of bounds off Chicago's Joakim Noah. The Bulls did get the ball back
on a steal, but Rose forced up an awkward left-handed layup over
Anderson Varejao that was short.
James grabbed the rebound and
was fouled. He made his first attempt to make it 96-92, but with his
elbow causing him pain, he tried his second shot left-handed and it was
way off the mark.
Down four, the Bulls got a layin
by Deng just before the buzzer.
James, who wore a sleeve on his
right arm for the second straight game, refused to address his injury
before the game.
"I don't know what is up with
it, but I'm ready to play," he said.
So were the Bulls, who fought
until the end to prolong their season — and for Del Negro.
Chicago, which had to win down
the stretch to earn the No. 8 seed, entered the playoffs amid
controversy surrounding its coach. Del Negro reportedly got into a
physical confrontation with vice president of basketball operations John
Paxson last month, an incident the team downplayed but could have
long-term effects.
Rose said he would hate to see
Del Negro lose his job.
"We both came in as rookies. It
would be devastating," Rose said. "But it's not up to me, it's up to the
front office. They're the ones that drafted me, so I guess I'm behind
them."
Rose said it would be hard to
imagine the Bulls firing their coach after making the playoffs.
"It would be unusual, especially
since it's our second time in the playoffs]," Rose said. "But the
league changes constantly. I guess that's how it is in the NBA. It's
tough to coach up here."
Cleveland's plan in the fourth
quarter was to force the ball inside to Shaquille O'Neal and let the Big Diesel
power his way to the basket.
O'Neal drew two fouls in a
five-second span on Chicago's Brad Miller, who was doing all he could to
keep the 325-pounder out of the lane. Del Negro and the Bulls
assistants protested the second foul and Miller had to be grabbed by his
teammates before he got called for a technical.
One minute later, O'Neal got
Noah to reach in and commit his fourth foul. The Cavs immediately went
into O'Neal again, and this time he spun on Noah and dunked on the
Bulls' outspoken center, sending the nervous, sellout crowd into a
momentary frenzy.
Notes
O'Neal pulled a pro wrestling move in the third quarter, dropping all
325 pounds on top of Noah while scrambling for a loose ball. … Rose
was guarding James when Cleveland's star pulled up and drained his
buzzer-beating 40-foot jumper in Game 4. James flicked his wrist like it
was a 15-footer. "He's one of the only ones who can do that," Rose
said. "I can't. I can't even shoot a 3. I still haven't hit a shot like
that yet." … James was excited that Varejao finished third in voting
for NBA Sixth Man of the Year. "He's a big key to our team and it's
great when a guy gets noticed and credit for what he does," James said.