Bulls rout Heat to pull within 2-1 in series
CHICAGO — Shaquille O'Neal looked old, the Miami Heat melted down and the Chicago Bulls made it clear they're not going away without a fight.
O'Neal had one of his worst playoff performances, and the Bulls took advantage, beating Miami 109-90 on Thursday night in a game that got heated in the end. The Bulls pulled within 2-1 in this first-round series and host Game 4 on Sunday.
"I guess we were just out of it today," O'Neal said.
He finished with eight points and four rebounds. He had one basket through the first three quarters and scored six meaningless points in the fourth, narrowly missing his career playoff low of seven points against Houston on April 19, 2004.
After averaging 24.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in the first two games, O'Neal picked up his third foul just over 3 minutes into the second quarter and spent the rest of the half on the bench.
In other playoff games, it was: Indiana 107, New Jersey 95; and Denver 94, the Los Angeles Clippers 87.
Miami's James Posey was ejected with 3:15 left after knocking down Kirk Hinrich on a fast break and receiving a flagrant foul two. Six seconds later, Antoine Walker fouled out and got called for a technical foul. So did Udonis Haslem, who served a one-game suspension for throwing his mouthpiece toward an official in the series opener.
The Bulls hit 3-of-4 free throws during the commotion, but the game was already out of reach.
"He thought we had an advantage and wanted to make a hard foul," Hinrich said. "It's just part of the game. Just got to take it."
Posey said he did not foul Hinrich out of frustration. He was simply trying to get back on defense, and Hinrich did not see him.
"He didn't see me, first of all," said Posey, who faces a fine and possible suspension. "So anything like that — a guy coming from the side — a collision will happen like that. That's all it was."
Miami coach Pat Riley did not rush to his players' defense afterward.
"When you're getting your (butt) kicked, you take it," he said. "You get on to Game 4; that's what it's about. They were very good, and they were kicking our (butt). And we began to look at the officials. That's something we don't want to do."
Chicago's Ben Gordon scored 24 points after being held to 13 in Game 2 on Monday, and Kirk Hinrich finished with 22 points and 11 assists. Luol Deng scored 21, and Andres Nocioni added 19 points and nine rebounds.
After a 3-pointer by Walker cut the Bulls' lead to 59-56 with 7:25 left in the third quarter, Hinrich and Gordon responded with back-to-back 3s and the Heat never threatened after that.
Pacers 107, Nets 95
At Indianapolis, Jermaine O'Neal tied a career playoff high with 37 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and the Pacers took a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Anthony Johnson scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter for the sixth-seeded Pacers, who will host Game 4 on Saturday. O'Neal was 12-for-15 from the field and 13-for-14 from the line.
Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter each scored 25 points for the Nets, but Carter was held without a field goal in the second half. The Pacers held the Nets to 9-for-38 shooting (24 percent) in the second half.
Nuggets 94, Clippers 87
At Denver, the Nuggets won without the suspended Kenyon Martin behind Carmelo Anthony's hard-fought 24 points.
The Nuggets will try to tie the series in Game 4 on Saturday night.
