Bulls charge past Heat, into Finals

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Michael Jordan wouldn't allow Miami to push the Bulls around.
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The Zone's Fred Carter says Jordan's intensity spurred the Bulls.
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Jordan helped Chicago to an early lead Wednesday and the Bulls went on to beat Miami 100-87 and win the Eastern Conference finals.

Michael Jordan was 6 for 10 in the first quarter (above) before cooling off and going 5 for 21 the rest of the way (below).

"At the beginning of the game, they made a statement to us," Heat coach Pat Riley said.

CHICAGO led 33-19 at the end of the first quarter. Miami outscored the Bulls 68-67 the rest of the way, but the Heat couldn't overcome Chicago's fast start.

Jordan was six for 10 from the floor in the opening period, when he scored 15 of his 28 points.

"I had a hot hand early," Jordan said, "but after that my game was pretty flat."

Jordan finished with 28 points on 11-for-31 shooting. When he cooled off, teammates Luc Longley, Ron Harper, Brian Williams and Dennis Rodman heated up and the Bulls were never threatened.

As if playing for a trip to the Finals wasn't inspiration enough, Jordan had added motivation for Wednesday's game.

Jordan was a horrid nine for 35 during a Game 4 loss, and members of the media suggested he was tired from golfing under the Miami sun the day before.

Miami also landed some hard shots against the Bulls during Game 4. In particular, Heat center Alonzo Mourning cracked Scottie Pippen over the head on a play under the basket, leaving a huge welt on Pippen's forehead.

"It's personal all the way around," Jordan said after Tuesday's practice. "I saw one of my players with a knot on his head, so that makes it personal."

Before Game 5, Jordan refused to shake Mourning's hand during the pregame meeting with the referees.

Jordan carried that fire to the court, where he made two jumpers during an 8-0 burst that opened the game. He added two free throws and a jumper before Longley made a hook to extend the advantage to 16-2 with 7:01 left in the period.

Pippen made two foul shots that gave the Bulls an 18-7 advantage with 5:30 left. The lead never dipped below 10 points after that.

"We weren't going to let them bully us around," Jordan said afterward. "They can't come into our house and do the same things they did to us in Miami."