Joining forces, Lebron James and Dwyane Wade have finally defeated the team that had tormented them in their past playoff matchups, the Boston Celtics; winning the series 4-1.

But that’s just the beginning. Now, they have to face the team that had swept them in the regular season 3-0, the Chicago Bulls. It was also the same team which made the Miami Heat players cry (allegedly) in the locker room after their third loss.

Led by the youngest NBA Most Valuable Player awardee ever, Derrick Rose, the Bulls are trying to return to the NBA Finals since 1998 when a guy named Michael Jordan was wreaking havoc in the league.

They entered the Eastern Conference Finals by defeating their Conference Semifinals Round opponent, the Atlanta Hawks 4-2.

NOTES:

1. The Bulls advanced to their first Eastern Conference finals since 1998 while the Heat the first time since 2007.

2. The Bulls entered the 2011 NBA Playoffs as the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference while the Heat is #2.

3. In the regular season, the Bulls swept the Heat 3 – 0.

4. The Bulls are led by the 2011 NBA MVP Derrick Rose (25 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 7.7 apg) who powers the team offense while his teammates provide the best defense in the NBA.

5. The Heat are led by the trio of superstars Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh who joined forces through the much-publicized and controversial “Summer of Lebron” free-agency market. The bench is virtually non-existent.

SCHEDULE: Miami wins series, 4–1 [The Miami Heat advance to the NBA Finals!]

[See 2011 NBA Finals full schedule here]

Game 1 - Miami Heat 82, Chicago Bulls 103
Game 2 - Miami Heat 85, Chicago Bulls 75
Game 3 - Chicago Bulls 85, Miami Heat 96
Game 4 - Chicago Bulls 93, Miami Heat 101
Game 5 – Miami Heat 83, Chicago Bulls 80

RECAP:

Game 1

Derrick Rose scored 28 points, Luol Deng contained LeBron James and the Chicago Bulls struck first in the Eastern Conference finals, pulling away to beat the Miami Heat 103-82 in Game 1 on Sunday night.

Deng had 21 points. He hit four 3s, had four steals, seven rebounds and simply put the clamps on The King, holding James to 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Carlos Boozer added 14 points and nine rebounds. Joakim Noah had 14 rebounds and the Bulls pounded the Heat on the glass, 45-33.

Chris Bosh led Miami with 30 points and nine rebounds. Dwyane Wade scored 18 points, but the Heat simply were overmatched down the stretch.

Taj Gibson posterized Dwyane Wade as well.

Game 2

After a five and a half months layoff following a foot fracture sustained on November 20, Miami Heat power forward Udonis Haslem returned in just the right moment to help his team tie its series 1-1 with the Chicago Bulls after winning Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, 85-75.

Haslem contributed 13 points, five rebounds and two assists for the game but it was his inspiring play in the 3rd quarter that helped turn the tide in Miami’s favor.

Lebron James came up big down the stretch with nine of his 29 points in the final 4:27 and Dwyane Wade added 24.

Derrick Rose led Chicago with 21 points with Luol Deng adding 13 as the only other Bulls player in double-figure scoring.

Game 3

Chris Bosh made 13 of his final 15 shots on the way to a 34-point night, LeBron James finished with 22 points and 10 assists, and the Heat remained unbeaten at home in the postseason by beating the Chicago Bulls 96-85.

Dwyane Wade added 17 points and nine rebounds for Miami, which is 7-0 at home in the playoffs and handed the team that finished with the NBA’s best record its first losing streak since Feb. 5-7.

Carlos Boozer finished with 26 points and 17 rebounds for Chicago, which had won the first four meetings of the season with Miami. Derrick Rose finished with 20 points, but struggled from the field again, making only 8 of his 19 shots.

Game 4

Lebron James scored 35 points, Chris Bosh added 22 and the Heat beat the Chicago Bulls 101-93 in overtime, taking a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Bosh scored the first four points of overtime, and the Heat—now 8-0 at home in the playoffs—never trailed in the extra session.

Derrick Rose scored 23 points for the Bulls, who got 20 apiece from Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer. Chicago has lost three straight games for the first time this season.

Game 5

Down 12 points with about 3 minutes to go, the Miami Heat slowly clawed their way until the final score read 83-80.

During that stretch, Dwyane Wade made a four-point play and Lebron James scored two three-pointers while completely shutting down Derrick Rose in front of the stunned Chicago fans – their dream of returning to the NBA Finals since the end of the Jordan era now gone. James and Wade each scored eight points during a game-ending 18-3 run as the Heat win this Eastern Conference Finals series 4-1 to advance to the NBA Finals since its championship run in 2006.

James also had 11 rebounds and six assists. Wade’s late surge helped negate his nine turnovers. The other member of the trio Chris Bosh added 20 points and 10 rebounds.

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Tags: 2011 NBA playoffs, chicago bulls, miami heat