Bulls Beat Heat, Go Up 2-0

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Apr 25, 2007 2:28PM

Chicagoist is pretty sure we witnessed the birth of a couple of superstars Tuesday night, as Loul Deng and Ben Gordon teamed up to cool off the Heat once again. With their 107-89 victory Tuesday night, the Bulls took a 2-0 lead in the best of seven series.

Gordon got hot early on his way to 27 points, while Deng came alive in the second half to reach 26. Both hit 11 of 19 shots -- Gordon hitting 5 of 8 from behind the arc. The team as a whole shot a strong 55% on the evening.

And Saturday's "Invisible Man?" Kirk Hinrich played more like his usual self with 14 points and eight assists, although he did find himself on the bench late with five fouls.

So much for the Heat being able to make adjustments defensively on Doul Deng. While they quieted him down in the frist half, the did so at the expense of opening up the three point shot for the Bulls, who hit 6 of 7 treys before halftime. Unable to concede that shot to the Bulls, Deng found opening within the Heat's defense down the stretch.

The series heads on down to South Beach, with Miami hosting games 3 and 4. Can the Bulls close it out down in Miami? We're not foolish enough to think that Shaq and Dwyane Wade will just fade away that easily. But we're feeling pretty confident now that the Bulls can knock off the defending champs and advance into the second round.

Photo by AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh