Ben Gordon scored 27 points and Luol Deng added 26 to lead the Chicago Bulls over the Miami Heat 107-89 and to a 2-0 lead against the defending NBA champions in the first-round playoffs series on Tuesday.
Gordon scored 11 in the third quarter, hitting three three-pointers, as the Bulls built a 17-point lead. Deng scored 14 in the fourth as Chicago sent Miami halfway to elimination.
Heat stars Shaquille O'Neal and Dwayne Wade had subpar performances again after struggling through foul trouble in the opener, finishing with 17 and 21 points, respectively. O'Neal was just 6-for-14 from the floor with eight rebounds. And Wade, who led a late charge in Game 1, never really got going, hitting 9-of-19.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The best-of-seven series shifts to Miami for two games, with Game 3 tomorrow.
As they did in Game 1, the Bulls beat the Heat with quick passes that led to open looks, and as a result, hit 43 of 78 shots.
Raptors 89, Nets 83
At Toronto, Anthony Parker scored 26 points, Chris Bosh added 25 points and 13 rebounds, and Toronto evened its first-round playoff series at a game apiece.
New Jersey's Bostjan Nachbar missed a three-pointer from the corner that would have tied the game with eight seconds to play.
Toronto got its first playoff victory since a 94-84 home win over Detroit in April 2002, and made Sam Mitchell twice a winner on Tuesday. Hours earlier, Mitchell was honored as the NBA's coach of the year after leading the Raptors to a 20-win improvement and their first Atlantic Division title.
Vince Carter had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets, who also got 14 points and 11 boards from Jason Kidd. Nachbar finished with 17 points for the Nets. Richard Jefferson, whose 28-point performance led the Nets to victory in Game 1, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with 13 points.
Suns 126, Lakers 98
At Phoenix, the Suns revved up their frenetic style to near perfection in a rout of Los Angeles that gave Phoenix a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.
Leandro Barbosa, presented with the NBA Sixth Man Award trophy before tipoff, scored 26 points to match his career playoff high for the second game in a row, leading six Suns in double figures.
Steve Nash had 16 points and 14 assists, then sat out the final 14.5 minutes.
Amare Stoudemire, who was watching in street clothes when the Suns lost Game 2 to the Lakers a year ago, added 20 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots -- two of them spectacular ones against Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom to set the tone in the first quarter.
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