MIAMI. LeBron James again leads the Heat to victory over Chicago Bulls, giving Miami 3-1 series lead; Memphis Grizzlies also take 3-1 lead over Oklahoma City Thunder
Miami 88-65 ChicagoHeat lead series 3-1Memphis 103-97 Oklahoma City Grizzlies lead series 3-1MIAMI. LeBron James again leads the Heat to victory over Chicago Bulls, giving Miami 3-1 series lead; Memphis Grizzlies also take 3-1 lead over Oklahoma City ThunderAre the Miami Heat just so much better than everyone else? Or have the Chicago Bulls finally run out of steam?The Heat were never troubled in playoff Game Four in Chicago, beating the Bulls 88-65 to take a 3-1 series lead and are now just one win away from the Eastern Conference finals.LeBron James scored 27 points and Chris Bosh 14 as the Miami Heat nearly matched a club record for fewest points conceded in a playoff game, dominating the listless and short-handed Bulls. The Heat have now won seven of eight playoff games this season.Carlos Boozer scored 14 points and had 12 rebounds to lead the Bulls but Chicago shot just 25% (19 for 74) from the field. Nate Robinson, so crucial in overcoming the Brooklyn Nets in the previous round, was 0 for 12 from the field and did not score in 32 minutes of action.The Bulls’ 65 points were just two more than the all-time postseason low for a Miami opponent, and it was easily the worst offensive performance by a Chicago team. Never before had the Bulls scored fewer than 69 in a playoff game.The defending champion Heat will try to wrap up the series at home on Wednesday.Yet again the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder were close in the closing minutes. Every game of the series has had a 2-point margin in the final two minutes. In Game Four the Grizzlies and the Thunder went to overtime. For the third time this series Memphis came out on top, winning 103-97.Marc Gasol led with 23 points and 10 rebounds to give Memphis a 3-1 series lead heading to OKC for Game Five.Kevin Durant again led last year’s finalists with 27 points plus 7 assists and 7 rebounds. The Grizzlies have won 19 of their last 20 games in Memphis.