The Miami Heat marched into the United Center Wednesday night, fully aware of a looming date with destiny, and equal standing with the 1972 Lakers. Meanwhile, the Bulls trotted out a lineup without Derrick Rose (despite Wacka Flocka Flame’s dubious claim that the star point guard would play) and All-Star center Joakim Noah. So, easy 28th consecutive win, right? Wrong. The Bulls went old school on Miami. Actually, that’s being generous. They went Old Skool — with a capital “K”. They beat Miami up all over the court, refusing to allow anything easy.
There was Kirk Hinrich tackling LeBron on a fast break, Taj Gibson walloping LeBron on a drive, and Kirk Hinrich (again) ripping the ball out of Chris Bosh’s hands. But, above all else, there were two lasting images of the night. First, Jimmy Butler Buckets, dropping the hammer on Chris Bosh — almost single-handedly paying back all the players who’ve fallen victim to Heat posterizations this season.
Then came the post game march to the tunnel, where one daring fan took it upon himself to swipe the most talked about accessory in the league: LeBron’s headband. The sneak aerial attack failed, but it was a humorous exclamation point to a night where the underdog punched the reigning champ in the mouth — over and over again — and never backed down.
About John Ferensen