Thursday, April 26, 2007 Bulls throw Miami in 2-0 playoffs hole
CHICAGO—Ben Gordon scored 27 points and Luol Deng added 26 to lead the Chicago Bulls over the Miami Heat 107-89 and to a 2-0 lead against the defending NBA champions in the first-round playoffs series on Tuesday.
Gordon scored 11 in the third quarter, hitting three 3-pointers, as the Bulls built a 17-point lead. Deng scored 14 in the fourth as Chicago sent Miami halfway to elimination.
Heat stars Shaquille O'Neal and Dwayne Wade had subpar performances again after struggling through foul trouble in the opener, finishing with 17 and 21 points, respectively. O'Neal was just 6-for-14 from the floor with eight rebounds. And Wade, who led a late charge in Game 1, never really got going, hitting 9-of-19.
The best-of-seven series shifts to Miami for two games, with Game 3 on Friday.
As they did in Game 1, the Bulls beat the Heat with quick passes that led to open looks, and as a result, hit 43 of 78 shots.
Raptors 89, Nets 83
At Toronto, Anthony Parker scored 26 points, Chris Bosh added 25 points and 13 rebounds, and Toronto evened its first-round playoff series at a game apiece.
New Jersey's Bostjan Nachbar missed a 3-pointer from the corner that would have tied the game with eight seconds to play.
Game 3 is on Friday in New Jersey.
Toronto got its first playoff victory since a 94-84 home win over Detroit in April 2002, and made Sam Mitchell twice a winner on Tuesday. Hours earlier, Mitchell was honored as the NBA's coach of the year after leading the Raptors to a 20-win improvement and their first Atlantic Division title.
Richard Jefferson, whose 28-point performance led the Nets to victory in Game 1, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with 13 points.
Suns 126, Lakers 98
At Phoenix, the Suns revved up their frenetic style to near perfection in a rout of Los Angeles that gave Phoenix a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.
Leandro Barbosa, presented with the NBA Sixth Man Award trophy before tipoff, scored 26 points to match his career playoff high for the second game in a row, leading six Suns in double figures.
