Heat on verge of advancing to NBA Finals

With their length and quickness, the Heat are simply throwing the Bulls‘ offense out of sync. Any openings are closing in a flash, and the result is this: Miami is outshooting Chicago 46.8 percent to 39.9, and the Bulls have no rhythm on the perimeter.

They’re 24 of 77 on 3-pointers, and that’s with a 10-for-21 showing in Game 1’s victory. The Bulls didn’t help themselves by committing three of their 22 turnovers in overtime on Tuesday, coughing it up on consecutive possessions.

Rose gave it away seven times and when he wasn’t losing the ball, he wasn’t hitting his shots, either. He scored 23 points but made just 8 of 27 shots and only one of his nine 3s.

Miami also continues to get big contributions from its bench, squashing the idea that its three superstars have to do it all by themselves.

In Game 2, it was Udonis Haslem scoring 13 points after missing most of the regular season with a foot injury. In Game 4, the Heat’s reserves outscored Chicago’s 23-18 and beat them on the glass 18-5, with Mike Miller contributing 12 points and nine rebounds and Mario Chalmers scoring nine.

And in the end, it was the Heat taking command of the series.

“I think it came down to hustle plays,” Chalmers said. “At first they (Chicago Bulls) were beating us to all the 50/50 balls. In the fourth quarter and the overtime, we were able to beat them to all the 50/50 balls and that’s what helped us win.”

As for Rose?

The defense, particularly James down the stretch, had something to do with it. The Heat simply weren’t giving him any room, and if they keep that up, they could be moving on.

“(Rose) doesn’t have to change,” Thibodeau said. “He can go catch-and-shoot, he can go isolation, he can go pick-and-roll. There’s a lot of things. But they also have an excellent team defense. It’s not just LeBron.”

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