Bulls Shock Heat in Game 1 in Miami, 93-86 Behind Superstar Nate Robinson
By Jason McIntyre
Nate Robinson was dominant – virtually unguardable – down the stretch, and Chicago went on a game-ending 10-0 run to stun the top-seeded Heat in Miami, 93-86, in game one of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Robinson scored seven of those 10 points, and the other three came on a triple from Big Balls Belinelli.
The Heat, 12.5 point favorites, were flummoxed down the stretch – or, like a team that hadn’t played in eight days – as Chris Bosh took a bad shot, D Wade settled for a jumper, and then LeBron airballed a shot in close, all in the final two minutes. Little Nate iced it from the line.
Robinson, who was bloodied earlier by LeBron, finished with 27 points and nine assists. Forward Jimmy Butler guarded LeBron, played 48 minutes, scored 21 points and collected 14 rebounds.
The Heat, who shot just 39 percent and missed eight free throws, got 24-8-7 from LeBron, but nobody else could be counted upon. Wade scored 14 points, but didn’t get to the foul line. Bosh shot 3-of-10. The Heat ended up settling for bad shots against a tough defense all night, and shot just 7-of-24 on three-pointers.