Bulls push Heat to brink of elimination

Gordon scored 10 of his points during a game-clinching 21-5 run in the fourth quarter for the Bulls, who will go for the series sweep on Sunday. Kirk Hinrich added 22 points and six assists for Chicago, which won a road playoff game for the first time since Michael Jordan led the franchise to its sixth title in eight years in 1998.

"We came in an were focused," said Hinrich. "We try to come in here and take it one game at a time. We focused on this game tonight and it wasn’t easy at all to get a win but we are thrilled that we did. We realize that we still have one more to go."

Dwyane Wade scored 28 points and nine rebounds, Shaquille O’Neal recorded 23 points and 13 boards for the defending champion Heat, who held a double-digit lead before faltering in the final quarter.

Down 79-72 early in the fourth quarter the Bulls took control. Gordon started the 21-5 run with a jumper and he later ended the surge with a pair of free throws for a 93-84 cushion. It was Hinrich’s runner during the burst with 8:47 left that gave Chicago the lead for good.

Miami later drew within 99-96, but Wade missed a jumper with just under a minute left that would have made it a one-point game and the Bulls held on for the win, ending a six-game road playoff losing streak.

"We played extremely hard to win the game," said Gordon. "Naturally the guys are going to be a little more excited. (The Heat) is a good team that could win four games in a row. So it’s not over. We just have to stay composed and play really really hard."

The Heat face a daunting task, as no team in NBA history has ever won a best- of-seven series after losing the first three games. Miami also faces becoming the first defending champion to be swept in a first-round game since the Philadelphia Warriors in 1957.

Chicago controlled much of the action in the first quarter, leading by as many as nine points, 27-18, after a Chris Duhon bucket late in the stanza and the Bulls eventually went into the second with a 29-23 lead.

Miami, though, opened the second half with a 14-2 run to take the lead. Antoine Walker had five points during the run, hitting a three-pointer to put the Heat in the lead. O’Neal then scored the final four points of the surge for a 37-31 advantage.

The Heat continued to hold the Bulls at bay throughout the third, going ahead by as many as 12 points after O’Neal a pair of free throws for a 72-60 lead with 3:42 left in the third.

"After we got the 12-point lead, (Scott Skiles) went with their small line up and Ben (Gordon) started getting some freedom and some room and we could not stop him," said Miami head coach Pat Riley.

Walker ended with 12 points and James Posey had 10 for Miami, which had an eight-game home playoff win streak halted.

Game Notes

Chicago’s Andres Nocioni left the game in the second half, but did return, with a thigh bruise. He ended with 10 points...Ben Wallace had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Bulls...Deng’s rebound total was a career playoff high...O’Neal and Wade went a combined 7-of-22 from the free throw line...The last defending champion to lose in the first round of the playoffs were the 1984 Philadelphia 76ers.