The Miami Heat needed a big win on Wednesday night against the Chicago Bulls after losing Game 1 and they got a boost from an unlikely source as Ray Allen led the team in scoring during the blowout 115-78 win in Game 2.
Allen led the team with 21 points and LeBron James added 19 in the win that saw at one point the Bulls go down by nearly 40 points. The Heat needed a game like this to get back on track after losing Game 1 and now things are tied heading into Game 3 on Friday night in Chicago. The semifinals may get a boost from Derrick Rose in Game 3, but if Miami plays as it did on Wednesday, they will be hard to beat, as Ray Allen hit all 10 of his shots from the free throw line as the bench added 55 points.
The Bulls injuries finally caught up to them in the game, as Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich were out, and in the third quarter Miami outscored the team by over 15 points and that ended up being the killer for the Bulls. The Heat had an easy series against the Bucks in four games and now they are playing their first worthy opponent and apart from the score, the Bulls were tough. James has his fourth MVP in hand and his play so far in the series has shown why he is so good and if he continues that the Heat will be hard to beat. The Bulls were rattled with nine technical fouls and both Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson were ejected after being frustrated late in the game.
"I think this was our first real adversity of the season, losing Game One at home was tough," said Miami's Dwyane Wade.
Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau was clearly upset with the officials but said his team would have to handle the pressure better when they return to their own court. Allen top scored for Miami with 21 points including ten of ten from the free throw line as the Heat bench scored a franchise record 55 points.
"We got sidetracked and you can't do that. We showed a lot of frustration ... you have to have poise under pressure.
"You come in here, you're not going to get calls, that is the way it is, that's reality, you can't get wrapped up in that stuff. You have to stay focused."
(Reuters quotes used)
