Bulls rally by Pacers

Published 12:12 am Sunday, April 17, 2011

CHICAGO (AP) — Derrick Rose scored 39 points, Kyle Korver nailed the go-ahead 3-pointer and the top-seeded Chicago Bulls rallied from a late 10-point deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers 104-99 in their playoff opener on Saturday.

Trailing 98-88 late in the game, the Bulls showed the resolved that carried them to a league-best 62-20 record, outscoring Indiana 16-1 over the final 3:38.

Rose scored seven during that run, including a three-point play and a floater that tied it at 99 with 1:27 left. He then hit Korver with a crosscourt pass for a 3 that gave the Bulls their first lead at 102-99 with 48 seconds remaining.

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Danny Granger missed a tying 3. Joakim Noah got the rebound, and Rose eventually hit two free throws with 14.8 seconds remaining. He was 19 of 21 from the line and had six assists and six rebounds in another strong performance.

Luol Deng added 18 points and Korver finished with 13.

Heat 97, 76ers 89

MIAMI (AP) — Chris Bosh scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, LeBron James finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds, and the Miami Heat held off a huge Philadelphia rally to beat the 76ers 97-89 on Saturday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Dwyane Wade scored 17 for Miami, five of those points coming in the final 1:34.

Philadelphia held the Heat scoreless for 4:37 of the fourth quarter and scored 12 straight points to close to 88-87, but never got the lead in the final minutes. Thaddeus Young had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the 76ers, while Jrue Holiday added 19 and Elton Brand finished with 17.

Hawks 103, Magic 93

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Joe Johnson scored 25 points, Jamal Crawford finished with 23 and the Atlanta Hawks beat Orlando 103-93 in Game 1 of their playoff series on Saturday, overcoming a monster night by Magic star Dwight Howard.

Atlanta was eliminated by Orlando in last year’s playoffs in the most lopsided four-game sweep in NBA history, but this one was much different. The Hawks led by as many as 18 points while running multiple bodies at Howard all night, and the rest of the Magic failed to step up.

Howard tied a career high with 46 points, to go along with 19 rebounds. Jameer Nelson had 27 but no other Orlando player reached double figures