The Miami Heat are back in the conference finals again after defeating the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs and the team is looking to repeat as champions as LeBron James is playing at a high level again and now they will wait to see if they face the Indiana Pacers or the New York Knicks.
The Knicks are down 3-1 to the Pacers with Game 5 Thursday, while the Heat finished off the Bulls in their Game 5 on Wednesday. The team lost the first game of the series, but the Heat bounced back to win four in a row and now are poised to make it back to the finals, although they will have a new opponent after the OKC Thunder lost to the Memphis Grizzlies. The team is playing at a very high level and is clicking at the right time.
The Heat reached their third straight Eastern Conference final after a 94-91 win over Chicago on Wednesday secured a 4-1 series victory for the defending NBA champions. A series that began with a Chicago upset win in Miami and included some fierce, physical encounters, ended with a strange game as Miami blew an 18-point first quarter lead but somehow managed to claw their way back to victory.
Miami will face the winners of the series between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers. Indiana currently lead 3-1 going into Thursday's Game Five in New York. The Heat made a blistering start, putting up 10 unanswered points to start the game and upped their advantage to 18 in the first quarter but once again the Bulls fought back.
Chicago led 53-47 at the half and went into the fourth quarter with a 77-69 advantage but Miami got their second wind when it mattered. Head coach Tom Thibodeau said the way his team fought back from a big early deficit summed up his team's year. A three-pointer from Shane Battier and a Chris Anderson dunk helped Miami close the gap before Norris Cole's left-handed dunk put the Heat back in the lead with 6:40 left on the clock.
"It was very challenging to be up like we were and then to be down like we were in second half. Mentally, we had to not get too high, not get too low in the whole game," said Miami's LeBron James, who ended with 23 points.
"Emotionally, this game took a lot out of both teams," added the league MVP, who said he was left with "no energy".
(Reuters quotes)
