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Wade, O'Neal look to get Heat back into series vs. Bulls

Apr 27, 2007 - 3:20 PM Chicago at Miami 8:00 pm EDT Eastern Conference First Round Game Three

MIAMI (Ticker) -- Trying to avoid a mammoth hole, the defending champion Miami Heat host the Chicago Bulls in Game Three of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Friday.

The Heat lost the first two games of the series on road. They also dropped the first games of the NBA Finals against Dallas, last June, then won four straight en route to their first championship.

If the Heat lose Friday, their title hopes may be all but gone since no team in playoff history has rallied to win a series after falling into an 0-3 hole.

Hoping to get back into the series, the Heat will need more Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal, who each had seven turnovers in a 107-89 setback in Game Two. Miami has committed 33 turnovers in the series.

The Heat have ahad no answer for budding star Luol Deng. The third-year forward is averaging 29.5 points in two games on 25-of-43 shooting. The Bulls also seem to be loose as well.

"We're just trying to go down and win a road game," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "If we can't, we'll do the same thing the next game."

Chicago cannot be too confident because it has been in this situation before and blown it.

Since the NBA went to a best-of-seven format in the first round in 2003, 20 teams have won the first two games of the series at home. However, the Bulls are the only team not to advance to the second round, losing to Washington in six games in 2005.