Knowing his team needed him at his best, Dwyane Wade retreated to the Miami Heat locker room after the third quarter for some quick treatment on his aching right knee.
When he came back, he was good as new.
LeBron James scored 27 points and the Miami Heat nearly matched a franchise record for points allowed in a playoff game, pounding the listless and short-handed Chicago Bulls 88-65 on Monday night to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Parity has struck the NBA playoffs, where the conference semifinals are all fit to be tied.
The Miami Heat recorded its most lopsided playoff win in franchise history and inflicted the heaviest such defeat on Chicago by beating the Bulls, 115-78, on Wednesday, squaring their NBA Eastern Conference semifinal series 1-1.
So much for that notion of the Miami Heat being in trouble. Sure, they’ve lost home-court advantage in these Eastern Conference semifinals. But an absolute domination of the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night made the reigning NBA champions look like the clear-cut team to beat in this title race once again.
LeBron James took his MVP trophy from Commissioner David Stern moments before tipoff, hoisted it toward the Miami fans and they responded with deafening cheers.
The NBA made it official Sunday, announcing Miami Heat superstar LeBron James had earned Most Valuable Player honors for the second straight year and the fourth time in his career.
Joakim Noah climbed over the baseline seats, his foot that hurt so much two weeks ago that he feared he couldn’t play looking pain-free as he embraced his mother.
Retired star Yao Ming gamely answered NBA-related questions thrown at him during a press conference held at the Solaire Resort & Casino Sunday morning.
LeBron James is getting his fourth Most Valuable Player award — and the only mystery left is whether the vote was unanimous. The Miami Heat star will be introduced Sunday as the award winner, according to a person familiar with the results and who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league has not publicly announced the result. James will become the fifth player with at least four MVP awards, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.
The NBA champion Miami Heat moved within one game of ousting the Milwaukee Bucks from the first round of the playoffs Thursday, closing strong in a 104-91 victory.
The Miami Heat on Sunday got revenge on the Chicago Bulls, winning 105-93 on the back of a 24-point performance from superstar LeBron James at American Airlines Arena.
All the Miami Heat did was set a franchise single-season record for wins with four games left to play, clinch the top overall spot in the NBA and secure home-court advantage for the entirety of the playoffs.
