MIAMI (AP) ― Nate Robinson was spitting blood in the first half, then delivered the deepest cuts of the night in the final moments. And the Chicago Bulls reminded the Miami Heat that no one in the NBA plays them any tougher.
Yes, the streakbusters struck again.
Robinson scored 27 points, Jimmy Butler added 21 points and a career-high-tying 14 rebounds, and the Bulls beat Miami 93-86 on Monday night in Game 1 of the teams’ Eastern Conference semifinal series.
The team that snapped Miami’s 27-game winning streak in the regular season ― the second-longest in NBA history ― found a way to topple the champs again, this time ending a run of 12 straight Heat victories overall.
“I’ve played on some tough teams,” Robinson said. “But this one, there’s something a little different, something special about this group.”
A seven-point deficit midway through the fourth wasn’t enough to doom the Bulls, who finished the game on a 10-0 run in the final 1:59. And to think, the Bulls weren’t anywhere near full strength. Kirk Hinrich was out again with a calf injury. Luol Deng isn’t even expected to rejoin the team until Tuesday, after dealing with an illness apparently so severe that a spinal tap ― and other tests since ― were needed to rule out things like meningitis.
“So proud of my team man, this bed might be good luck after all,” Deng wrote on Twitter after the game, with a photo of him in a hospital bed.
Oh, and Derrick Rose remains sidelined, as he’s been since April 2012.
No problem. The Heat are 41-3 in their last 44 games ― with two of those losses to the Bulls, who are now 3-2 against Miami this season.
“I think when you’re facing adversity, you have to be mentally tough,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “But this is just one game. We have to play a lot better in our next one.”
LeBron James got his MVP trophy from commissioner David Stern before the game, then struggled to a two-point first half before finishing with 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Miami. Dwyane Wade added 14 for the Heat, who had no one else in double figures, finished shooting 40 percent from the floor and were outrebounded 46-32.
Spurs rally past Warriors
SAN ANTONIO (AP) ― Manu Ginobili’s 3-pointer from the wing with 1.2 seconds left in double overtime lifted the San Antonio Spurs to a thrilling 129-127 victory over the Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry’s 44 points in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals Monday night.
The Spurs trailed by 16 points with 4 minutes left in regulation before going on an 18-2 run to close the fourth quarter and force overtime.
They trailed 127-126 with 3.9 seconds left in the second overtime before Ginobili hit his 3-pointer off a cross-court inbounds pass from Kawhi Leonard.
“It’s only the second one I made all day,” Ginobili said. “Good timing though.”
Golden State had one final chance but Jarrett Jack’s 3-pointer from the top of the key was off. After trailing by so many points late Ginobili wasn’t sure how his team rallied for the improbable victory.
“I have no clue. I really got to watch it to see what happened,” he said. “They started missing shots. Steph was unbelievable in the third quarter.”
Tony Parker scored 28 points to lead San Antonio while Danny Green added 22 points, Leonard had 18 and Ginobili 16.
Tim Duncan finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in 35 minutes. Duncan, who is battling a stomach bug, left the game with 3 minutes left in regulation and only played the final seconds of each overtime.
Curry had 11 assists and was 18 for 35 from the field and 6 for 14 on 3-pointers for Golden State, which has lost 30 straight in San Antonio dating back to Feb. 14, 1997.
