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GAME FLOW
CHICAGO (AP) – There were still plenty of things Alonzo Mourning didn't like about his own game.
|  | | With 12 points and five rebounds, Alonzo Mourning had his best game since returning to action. |
But the Miami Heat clinched a playoff berth with a 97-90 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night, and Mourning walked off the floor like any other player. That alone was more than enough to make it a good day.
"It's progress. Any time you win, it's progress," said Mourning, who scored 12 points and had five rebounds and one block in his third game back. He missed almost six months after being diagnosed with a kidney disease last October.
"I'm not out here to prove I can overcome that obstacle," he said. "I'm out here for one specific reason, and that's to help this team win. That's been my main focus."
The victory was the Heat's first since Mourning returned, and it clinched a playoff berth.
Miami looked as if it was going to cruise to the win, taking a
17-point lead after three quarters. But A.J. Guyton hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Bulls whittled away at the lead. When
Fred Hoiberg drilled a 3 and Elton Brand scored on a tip, it cut Miami's lead to 92-87 with 1:42 to play.
But Tim Hardaway hit a 14-foot jumper, and the Bulls made only one more field goal the rest of the way.
"They were coming back at us and we needed a big play," said
Hardaway, a Chicago native. "I was glad that I could get the ball
in my hands and hit that shot down the lane. That ... really made a
difference."
Hardaway had 21 points and 10 assists to lead six Heat players
in double figures. Anthony Mason added 18 points and 12 rebounds,
and Brian Grant also had a double-double with 11 points and 11
rebounds.
Brand led the Bulls with 20 points, and Guyton scored a career-high 19.
Though he missed five months and has only been practicing for about six weeks, Mourning has been critical of his play since he returned. On Saturday, it was clear he is still not in the same player -- conditioning wise -- who was the league's defensive player of the year the past two seasons.
He occasionally trailed as his teammates ran down the court, and at times looked winded, putting his hands on his head.
But his 12 points were the most since his return, even though he only played 16 minutes. When he scored on a reverse jam late in the game, he let out a guttural scream and ran down the court with his arms outstretched.
And he played with physical abandon, diving for loose balls, and bumping and banging as if there's nothing wrong with his body.
"It's one of the things, to tell you the truth, that I've missed," he said. "Being bumped and hit, I missed all that. I wasn't getting it enough from my son."
Still, he wasn't satisfied.
"We had a 17-point lead and I step on the court and it diminishes," he said. "I point the finger at myself, things I could have done out there to keep that from happening.
"That has been one of the driving forces in me progressing, me
staying on myself, not settling for mediocrity," he added. "As
long as I continue to keep that mindset and not be content with
where I am right now, I know I'll be all right."
It's just going to take some time, Hardaway said.
"Zo is very committed to playing well," he said. "That's all he knows: hard work, hard work, hard work. It's just going to get better and better and better."
In the meantime, his teammates will continue to carry the load. Leading only 48-47 at the half, the Heat opened things up in the third. They held the Bulls to just five field goals and outscored them 28-12.
Brian Grant made a layup with 5:40 left to give Miami a 60-52
lead. After Ron Artest hit a 3-pointer, Mason scored on a layup to
start a 12-0 run.
Hardaway and Majerle hit back-to-back 3-pointers during the
spurt, and Hardaway capped the run with a layup, giving Miami a
72-55 lead with 2:01 left in the third.
"They're a team we can look at and use as an example of being in the playoffs year after year," Brand said. "This is where we want to be as a young team."
Game notes
Though Brand couldn't watch Duke's NCAA semifinal victory
over Maryland, he still kept tabs on his old team, getting updates
from a United Center security guard. Brand was on Duke's last Final
Four team, advancing to the 1999 championship game before losing to
Connecticut. "If time permits Monday, I'll try to get up (to
Minneapolis)," Brand said. ... Bulls center Brad Miller and Miami
center Duane Causwell sat out the game with injuries. ... Guyton
was turnover free in 22 minutes.
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NBA Scoreboard
Miami Clubhouse
Chicago Clubhouse
RECAPS
Houston 96
Washington 86
Atlanta 99
Denver 88
Miami 97
Chicago 90
Milwaukee 86
San Antonio 77
LA Clippers 104
Cleveland 97
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