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Heat and Clippers Take 2-0 Series Lead

Posted on: Tuesday, 25 April 2006, 09:00 CDT

By TIM REYNOLDS

MIAMI - The Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Clippers have taken 2-0 leads in their NBA playoff series.

In a familiar refrain for the Bulls, Dwyane Wade snuffed out another rally and moved the Heat one step closer to the second round. Chicago cut a 20-point deficit to four with 1:15 left, but Wade made two huge plays to ensure Miami escaped with a 115-108 win Monday night.

The Heat hold a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series, which resumes Thursday night in Chicago.

"I didn't have my athletic ability tonight the way I would have liked to have it," said Wade, still bothered by a sore calf that cramped in Game 1. "But I was able to make the plays I had to make with a couple blocked shots and a couple steals. I would have liked to have more athletic ability tonight, but I did what I had to do."

That mantra could have been repeated around all corners of the Heat locker room, as Miami got tremendous offensive balance to overcome Wade's physical struggles and the absence of starting power forward Udonis Haslem, who was suspended for Game 2 after throwing a mouthpiece toward referee Joey Crawford in Saturday night's series opener.

In the other playoff game, the Los Angeles Clippers beat Denver 98-87.

Jason Williams and Shaquille O'Neal each scored 22 points for Miami, with Wade getting 21 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals. Antoine Walker - who played the first 40:20 without a rest, filling in for Haslem - added 17 points and 10 rebounds, James Posey scored 12 points and Gary Payton added 11.

Andres Nocioni had 30 points - on 13-for-15 shooting - for Chicago. Kirk Hinrich had 17 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter for the Bulls, who, just like Game 1, saw a late surge wasted by Wade's heroics.

Wade hit a spinning jumper with 1:04 left to halt Chicago's frantic rally, then blocked Ben Gordon's layup 38 seconds later to help seal the victory.

"We made it interesting again at the end," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said, "but pretty much got dominated again from beginning to end."

No one need remind Chicago how a 2-0 series lead guarantees little; the Bulls blew a two-game lead in the first round against Washington last season, dropping the next four games. But recovering is a daunting task; the Bulls have prevailed only once in 14 previous playoff series after starting with two losses.

The Heat have taken 2-0 series leads on five other occasions, and won them all.

"It's not over," Hinrich said. "They took care of their home court. Now we have to go home and take care of our home court."

Luol Deng had 14 points and Gordon, who had 35 points in Game 1 for Chicago, managed 13 on 5-for-16 shooting.

"Not as many touches as I wanted," Gordon said. "It's pretty easy to play someone who doesn't have the ball."

Walker scored off an offensive rebound with 8:12 left, giving Miami a 102-84 lead - and a two-game series lead seemed all but certain.

Five minutes later, those prospects were precarious, at best.

Hinrich hit three straight jumpers - a personal 7-0 run - to get the Bulls within 102-91, and he scored four more points to fuel a 13-2 Chicago burst that cut Miami's lead to 104-97 with 3:00 left.

Wade found Walker for a layup at the 2:46 mark, and hit a jumper 59 seconds later to push Miami's lead back to 108-99. Once again, the Bulls weren't done: Hinrich scored, and after Wade missed from the same spot he'd hit from one possession earlier, Nocioni hit a 3-pointer with 1:15 left that got Chicago within four.

"Any team in this league, when they're down 10 or 20, they're going to make a run no matter what time of the game it is," Williams said. "It's just part of their scheme. They never give up."

But Wade scored on the next trip, Nocioni threw the ball away on Chicago's next possession, and Miami - which has scored at least 111 points in both games, a total the Bulls allowed only four times in the regular season - could soon exhale.

"We're supposed to be a defensive team," Hinrich said. "We just didn't have it on that end tonight."

After Michael Sweetney hit two free throws with 5.4 seconds left in the half, the Bulls could have gone into intermission trailing by only seven.

Instead, in a flash, the margin was 11.

Williams streaked down the right sideline and made a layup with 1.2 seconds left - enough time for one more score. Wade intercepted Chicago's inbound pass and dunked just before the clock hit 0.0, giving Miami a 68-57 lead at the break.

The lead was 95-76 entering the fourth, after which the Heat felt lucky to survive.

"We're ahead 2-0," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "That's what it's about."

Clippers 98, Nuggets 87

Cuttino Mobley scored 21 points, Elton Brand had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and the Clippers took command early in beating Denver to take a 2-0 lead in the first round of the playoffs.

The best-of-seven series moves to Denver for Game 3 Thursday night and Game 4 Saturday night.

Sam Cassell had 13 points and 11 assists, Corey Maggette scored 12, and Chris Kaman and Quinton Ross each added 10 for the Clippers.

Marcus Camby led the Nuggets with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony, who played less than 6 1/2 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, scored all of his 16 points in the second half.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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