Road to Glory II

[Valor]

Behind Wade, Heat starve off elimination

Wade willed Miami to victory tonight

Miami, FL - The Miami Heat was the definition of a "one man team" tonight.

Facing elimination and the threat of being swept, Dwyane Wade put the Heat on his back and dropped a game high 45 points to go along with 7 assists and 4 rebounds, to lead teh Miami Heat in a come-back game 4 victory over the Chicago Bulls, 103-100.

From the beginning, it was evident that Wade was hot. He went 7 for 7 from the field in the first quarter to score 17 points and the Bulls never really found an answer for him.

“Phenomenal," Bulls coach Byron Scott said.

“I just thought, time to be aggressive,” Wade said. “Very aggressive. So I was shooting all those shots, no matter what was going to happen. And I started to make a couple, so I got hot at the right time. Just wanted to will my team to this victory.”

The Bulls turned it on after Wade's first quarter explosion and took a 4 point lead into the half before extending it to an 8 point lead at the end of the third quarter.

But the fourth, thanks to Wade, was all Miami.

“I’m a rhythm player,” Wade said. “And once I get in that rhythm, I think I can make any shot.”

Only Jimmer Fredette scored in double figures for Miami aside from Wade's 45, as he turned in his best performance of this series with 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting. Michael Beasley had 8 points and 5 rebounds while Dan Hicks added 6 points alongside 10 boards.

The Bulls were led once again by Derrick Rose, who turned in a 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists performance. He was aided by Luol Deng (20 points, 7 rebounds), and Joakim Noah (17 points, 12 rebounds), but it just wasn't enough.

Chicago forward Carlos Boozer's struggles continue as he went just 1 for 9 from the field and finished with 5 points and 6 rebounds in this game. Reserve big man Shaquille O'Neal once again filled in this void nicely as he notched 12 points and 8 rebounds for the Bulls.

"Shaq's been playing great but I need to step it up" Boozer said. "I can't play like this and let Derrick and the others carry the load"

The Bulls will now head back to Chicago, still with the series lead at 3-1 and will look to close out the series in Game 5 at the United Center.






Highlights




Jordan Player of the Game Highlights

[Valor]

Second Round Results: Game 4

[Valor]

Well, for me in terms of skill...
"Pistol" Pete Maravich would always stand out.
Well, that's just my opinion

I haven't had the pleasure of watching Pistol Pete play so I can't make a judgment there They are all great players, no doubt

[Martti.]

Lamrock with 9 shots in 8 minutes, that's why Spo is benching him..

[Larvae]

Tough tough loss, although Wade indeed killed you to death!

[Axel The Great]

Wow, Boozer and Hinrich really stunk it up there. Loss could've probably been prevented had they shot better. 45 points on 26 shots isn't too shabby by Wade, though.

[kibaxx7]

More time to Marcus Jordan! More time to Marcus Jordan!

[Lamrock]

Yeah, yeah, you know how I be, last night the Bulls couldn't do it without me

[George7]

They just prolong the inevitable..

[Valor]

Lamrock with 9 shots in 8 minutes, that's why Spo is benching him..

He did hit 3 of them though

Tough tough loss, although Wade indeed killed you to death!

Unstoppable

Wow, Boozer and Hinrich really stunk it up there. Loss could've probably been prevented had they shot better. 45 points on 26 shots isn't too shabby by Wade, though.

Yeah, off-series for Boozer and Hinrich's shot's been up and down all season, I could live with losing one game to a 45 point explosion thouugh Just hope he doesn't do it again

More time to Marcus Jordan! More time to Marcus Jordan!

Not going to happen unless it's garbage time man, this is the playoffs. Kid's not ready yet

Yeah, yeah, you know how I be, last night the Bulls couldn't do it without me

Bulls? You mean the Heat? remember which team you play for!!

They just prolong the inevitable..

Yes indeed, unless this goes to a game 7 I'm not too worried

[Valor]

Phil Jackson gets third straight Coach of the Year nod
By Official release
Posted May 12 2012 5:17PM

NEW YORK -- Phil Jackson keeps making history.

The winningest coach in NBA history with 12 championships from four separate three-peats, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson has been awarded his third consecutive NBA Coach of the Year Award following another spectacular season. The three time defending champion Lakers, under Jackson's guide finished the regular season with a NBA-best record of 69 wins and 13 losses despite the head-start from the New Orleans Hornets, who started the season 25-0.

The 69 wins ties the most wins in franchise history, the one and only previous time LA had accomplished such a feat was back in 1972.

Jackson totaled 480 points, including 71 first-place votes, from a panel of 123 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

With this award, the Hall of Fame coach has won an unprecedented four Coach of the Year awards.

The Coach of the Year Award is named after legendary coach and Hall of Famer Red Auerbach who guided the Celtics to nine NBA Championships. In 1996, Auerbach was honored as one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History as the NBA celebrated its 50th anniversary.

[Larvae]

Jacks the man!

[dare]

Didn't know that the Lakers are this good . What is their standing so far against the Mavs?

[Valor]

Jacks the man!

Yup, living legend

Didn't know that the Lakers are this good . What is their standing so far against the Mavs?

They caught fire in the middle of the season and surpassed the Hornets
Unfortunately their four-peat hopes are on the brink of disappearing right now as they lost three straight to Dallas after taking game 1. Trailing 1-3 at the moment

[dare]

After getting 69 wins getting eliminated in the second round is a very big disappointment.

[Valor]

After getting 69 wins getting eliminated in the second round is a very big disappointment.

Indeed it will be, lets see if they can be one of those few teams to come back from down 1-3

[Valor]

Rose, Bulls advance to Conference Finals

Just like in this photo, Derrick Rose and his Bulls soared past Wade and the Heat and reached new heights


Chicago, IL - Revenge sure is sweet.

Behind yet another dominating performance from Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls defeat Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat 88-80 in front of their adoring fans at the United Center, to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1998, the final year of the second three-peat for Michael Jordan and co.

Rose recorded a game high 32 points along with 6 rebounds and 3 assists, going 14 for 23 from the field in 38 minutes of play to pace the Bulls the entire game. Only veteran center Shaquille O'Neal also scored in double figures for the Bulls (11 points, 10 rebounds), which highlights Rose's heroics even further.

Dwyane Wade finished with 23 points and 12 assists, but even though the Heat had 3 other players in double figures, including Rookie of the Year Liam Washburn playing in undeniably the best game of this series where he is made into a bench player by Erik Spoelstra (10 points, 5-9 FG), it was not enough as their fourth quarter rally fell short.

Wade signed with his hometown Bulls in the summer of 2010, but abandoned the Windy City after just one season by forcing a trade back to Miami, and the Chicago crowd never forgets. He was showered with boos every time he touched the ball and had a chorus of "Wade is a loser" given to him as time was ticking down in the waning moments of the game and series.

"No comment" Wade said. "I don't concern myself with idiots"

"They should mind their own business first" he added before leaving the podium

The Bulls got off to a great start defensively, shutting down Miami's offense and only allowed 12 and 14 points respectively in the first two quarters of the game. They already held a commanding 47-26 lead at the half, one that was only expanded upon in the third quarter.

By the time Miami could fight back, it was too late.

"As far as cliche goes, defense wins championships" Byron Scott said. "They did a great job on that end of the floor tonight and earned this win"

Most importantly, Chicago was able to defend without fouling; as they only gave Miami, who with Wade, is a team that is very adepted at drawing the whistle and getting to the charity stripe; a mere 8 free throw attempts and fouled less than twice the amount that the Heat did.

Effort was also apparent, as the Bulls outhustled Miami to the loose balls and clashed the offensive boards regularly. Chicago edged the Heat 8-3 on the offensive glass. "Air Shaqness" Shaquille O'Neal alone outdid the Heat with 4 of those 8 offensive boards despite being at the advanced age of 40.

"That's cause it's not about age, or jumping ability, or anything like that" Shaq said. "It's about heart; and everyone on this team has the heart of a champion."

The Bulls will now be able to rest up and wait for the winner to emerge from the Orlando-Philadelphia series. Orlando currently leads 3 games to 2.







Highlights

[Valor]

Second Round Results: Game 5

[LegoLand]

Congratulations to the defeat Heat in series and go to Conf. Finals. I think Bulls have good chance win NBA title

[Bucket]

You did a good job beating Heat. Now one more round and finals.

[George7]

Time for the title!! Let's go Bulls!!

[Houndy]

Have fun at home D-Wade!

[kibaxx7]

So it's Orlando 3-2 over Philly, right? The Magic will make a nice East Finals series

[dare]

Two more games for my team.

[Valor]

Congratulations to the defeat Heat in series and go to Conf. Finals. I think Bulls have good chance win NBA title

Thanks man, there is still the 60+ win teams of the Lakers and Hornets in the West if I manage to advance past Orlando/Philly though

You did a good job beating Heat. Now one more round and finals.

I sure hope I can get to the finals this time!

Time for the title!! Let's go Bulls!!

Two more rounds to go!!

Have fun at home D-Wade!

Oh yeah, he's having fun alright

So it's Orlando 3-2 over Philly, right? The Magic will make a nice East Finals series

Yup, Orlando currently leads 3-2. They will be a much tougher matchup than Philly but either way the Conference Finals will be good I reckon

Two more games for my team.

Can they pull off the 1-3 comeback? Only <10 teams have done it! big to them if they can