LeBron James came up big down the stretch and scored 29 points, Dwyane Wade added 24 and the Miami Heat beat the Bulls 85-75 Wednesday night to tie the Eastern Conference finals at one game apiece. The Heat can breathe a little easier after escaping with a win and stealing home-court advantage. Coming off a lopsided loss in Game 1, they recovered down the stretch after blowing an 11-point lead to pull even in the series, with Game 3 in Miami on Sunday.James shook off a brutal opener and scored nine points over the final 4:27, starting with a 3-pointer that put Miami ahead for good, 76-73. He also had 10 rebounds, and Miami outrebounded the Bulls 45-41 after getting pounded 45-33 on the glass in the opener.Despite battling a head cold, it was big turnaround after he managed just 15 points on 5-for-15 shooting while being harassed by Luol Deng in Game 1.Wade also looked more like a superstar after scoring 18 on Sunday. Udonis Haslem, whom Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called “an absolute championship warrior,” provided a spark off the bench with 13 points, and the Heat beat the Bulls for the first time this season even though Chris Bosh scored just 10 after pouring in 30 in the opener.Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 21 points but scored just two in the fourth quarter. Deng, the only other Bulls player in double figures, added 13 but had just four after the opening period. Joakim Noah had nine points but only eight rebounds. Taj Gibson provided a spark in the fourth quarter, scoring all of his eight points. Carlos Boozer, however, was a non-factor with seven points and eight rebounds.The Bulls missed countless layups and got outshot 47.1 percent to 34.1 percent. They were just 3 of 20 on 3-pointers and 16 of 26 at the foul line while getting beat on the glass. They had no answer for James down the stretch, either, and came up short when it looked like they might find a way to pull this one out.The Heat led by 11 late in the third, only to see the Bulls wipe it all out all in the fourth, with Gibson providing a big spark. He cut it to 71-69 early in the fourth with back-to-back jumpers for his first points of the game, pumping both arms after the second shot went in.Then, he tied it at 73 with 7:16 left after Haslem lost the ball out of bounds, drawing more roars from the crowd, but the teams traded misses for about three minutes before James put Miami ahead with a 3. Then, he scored again with 3:15 left to make it 78-73. Gibson delivered a slam over three defenders and got fouled by Wade, the same guy he delivered a poster-worthy dunk on in Game 1, to make it a three-point game with 2:29 left, but missed the free throw.James then put back his own miss and nailed a 20-footer to make it 84-75 with 47 seconds left.The Heat looked like they were ready to pull away in the third, going on a 10-0 run after Rose hit two free throws to cut it to 57-56 with 5:14 left.Haslem blocked Deng and dunked on Keith Bogans for a three-point play to start the run. James then stole a pass from Noah and broke the other way for a three-point play, then picked off another by Deng, leading to a layup for Wade. Haslem, who hadn’t been playing much, threw down another vicious fast-break dunk on Rose to finish the run, crashing to the court as the lead reached 11, but the Bulls answered with six straight to stay in it. The Heat got 17 points from Wade in the first half, 14 from James and hit 17 of 33 shots. Even so, they were only up 48-46.One reason: turnovers. They committed nine in the half, leading to 11 points for the Bulls.Deng also got off to a good start, scoring nine in the first quarter. He started and ended a 12-1 run late in the period with dunks, turning a 14-9 deficit into a 21-15 lead. His most impressive shot, though? That was at the end of the quarter.Miami’s Mike Miller had just scored on a layup after Gibson blocked a driving Juwan Howard, when Deng launched a 41-footer from the right side that swished threw the net as the buzzer sounded, making it 26-19 and sending the crowd into a frenzy.

NOTES—Sporting various piercings and tattoos, incoming Hall-of-Famer Dennis Rodman presented the game ball to a loud ovation before the opening tip. … The Heat stuck with their Game 1 lineup and held out Erick Dampier, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Dexter Pittman again. … The Bears’ Julius Peppers got a loud ovation and waved to the crowd when he was shown during a first-quarter timeout. … The Bulls missed their first nine field before Keith Bogans nailed a 3 and scored on a fast-break layup.

The last time Jake Peavy pitched at U.S. Cellular Field he left in agony, his career jeopardy. Almost a year later, he showed the form that won him the Cy Young Award in 2007. Peavy pitched a three-hitter in his home debut this season, outdueling Justin Masterson and making Adam Dunn‘s sacrifice fly in the first inning stand up to lift the White Sox to a 1-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night.The 29-year old right-hander was spectacular in his first appearance at U.S. Cellular Field since July 6, 2010, when he left with detached a muscle in his right shoulder. Peavy (1-0) struck out eight to cool off a Cleveland lineup that scored 31 runs in its three previous games. He had his fifth career shutout and ninth complete game. He only allowed one runner past first base, did not walk a batter and threw 111 pitches. Peavy finished the 2-hour, 1-minute game by striking out Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera. Since being traded to the White Sox on July 31, 2009, Peavy is 11-6 in 22 starts. After the game, Peavy was greeted by Dr. Tony Romeo, who performed the surgery. Masterson (5-2) pitched his third career complete game. He allowed one run on five hits. He struck out eight with two walks.Juan Pierre led off the game with a double and advanced to third on 44-year old Omar Vizquel’s single. Dunn then hit a sacrifice fly. Peavy was making his second start having surgery 10 months ago. In his first start, he gave up four runs and seven hits over six innings during a 6-4 win in Los Angeles last Wednesday.Shin-Soo Choo was the only hitter that gave Peavy problems. He was 2 for 4 with two singles. Peavy got Travis Buck to ground out to end the seventh, stranding Choo at second.In the eighth, Peavy got help from Brent Lillibridge, who made a sliding catch on the left-center warning track to rob Orlando Cabrera of extra bases.

NOTES—Indians DH Travis Hafner was a late scratch with soreness in his right side.

MIAMI—Small ball was a big part of the Cubs’ offense Wednesday night. A couple of home runs helped, too. Pinch-hitter Reed Johnson tied the game with a two-run homer in the sixth, and Marlon Byrd put the Cubs ahead to stay with a leadoff homer in the eighth as they broke a three-game losing streak by beating the Florida Marlins 7-5. The Cubs came into the game with 30 homers, more than only three NL teams. The Cubs scratched out runs, too. Darwin Barney had an RBI groundout and a sacrifice fly. Tony Campana, playing in his second big-league game, pinch-ran in the eighth and scored from third on a grounder to third, barely beating the throw home with a headfirst slide. Koyie Hill, went 3 for 3 and scored three times.The Cubs totaled 13 hits and overcame a 5-3 deficit to bounce back from a two-game sweep at Cincinnati. Johnson hit his third career pinch-hit home run to make the score 5-all. The Cubs took the lead when Byrd hit a changeup for his second homer against Edward Mujica (4-2).Ryan Dempster gave up five runs in five innings, increasing his ERA to 6.91, but three relievers shut out Florida over the final four innings. Jeff Samardzija (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings, and Carlos Marmol worked 1 1/3 innings for his ninth save in 11 chances. Unbeaten Ricky Nolasco took a two-run lead into the sixth for Florida but couldn’t hold it. After Hill singled with two out, Johnson batted for Dempster and hit his second home run of the season. Johnson improved his lifetime average against Florida to .425 (17 for 40). Dempster gave up his 11th homer when Hanley Ramirez connected in the first inning. Ramirez, who has been battling a season-long slump, also singled and hiked his average to .211. The Cubs scored their first run in the third. Hill led off with a single, advanced on a sacrifice, took third on a single by Kosuke Fukudome and came home on Barney’s groundout. The Cubs manufactured two more runs in the fifth, with help from the Marlins’ defense. Hill led off with a broken-bat double, took third on Fukudome’s infield hit and scored on Barney’s sacrifice fly. When Starlin Castro’s single skipped past left fielder Logan Morrison for an error, Fukudome came home with an unearned run that made it 3-1. The Marlins scored four runs, all with two out, in a span of three pitches from Dempster in the fifth. After an RBI single by Gaby Sanchez cut the Cubs’ lead to 3-2, Greg Dobbs hit the next pitch for a two-run double. Mike Stanton followed with a run-scoring single on the next pitch to put Florida up 5-3.

NOTES—Clay Hensley (left ribs) began a rehabilitation stint, and the Marlins hope to activate him Sunday, the first day he’s eligible to come off the DL…..Ramirez began the homestand hitting .414 against left-handers and .153 against righties……Marmol has yet to allow a run on the road in 10 2/3 innings….The Cubs won despite going 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position…..The Cubs have won seven of their past 10 games in Miami.

Gordon Beckham scampered home on Cody Eppley’s wild pitch in the eighth inning, lifting the White Sox to a sorely needed 4-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night. Beckham began the inning with a walk and made it all the way to third on pinch-hitter Dallas McPherson’s single to center. McPherson, who was promoted when Mark Teahen went on the disabled list earlier in the day, picked up his first hit since Sept. 10, 2008, for Florida at Philadelphia.Eppley (1-1) then bounced his first pitch to Alexei Ramirez, and Beckham rushed home to give the Sox a 4-3 lead. Jesse Crain (1-1) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to get the win and Sergio Santos worked a perfect ninth for his sixth save in six chances. The White Sox (18-25) were coming off a listless 4-0 loss to Colby Lewis and the Rangers on Monday night and had dropped 10 of their last 11 games at U.S. Cellular Field. They trailed 3-0 in this one before Brent Morel hit a three-run drive with two out in the fifth for his first homer of the season.Endy Chavez had two hits and reached four times for Texas, which has dropped eight of its last 11 road games. Michael Young singled in the eighth to extend his road hitting streak to a career-best 17 games. The Rangers, missing injured sluggers Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz, employed a patient approach as John Danks struggled to find the strike zone. They walked five times in the first four innings, with each playing a key role in their three runs.Chavez walked and scored on Ian Kinsler’s double-play grounder in the first. Mike Napoli, Yorvit Torrealba and Craig Gentry walked with two out in the second, and shortstop Ramirez misplayed Chavez’s bouncer for a run-scoring error. David Murphy started the fourth with a walk and eventually came around to score on Torrealba’s sacrifice fly.Texas entered the game with 124 walks, 11th in the American League. Danks eventually settled down, working out of a jam in the fifth and retiring seven of his last nine batters. The left-hander matched a career high with six walks in all, but allowed just two earned runs and four hits over 6 1/3 innings.Danks, who had dropped his previous five starts, remains winless in six decisions one year after he set a career high with 15 victories.Matt Harrison pitched seven effective innings for Texas, allowing three hits. He struck out six and walked four.

NOTES—Hamilton (broken bone in upper right arm) took early batting practice, then returned to Texas to be re-evaluated by team physician Dr. Keith Meister. If Meister clears him, the AL MVP will play two rehab games at Double-A Frisco starting Wednesday, then three with Triple-A Round Rock. … McPherson has been hampered by back problems for much of his career. … Gavin Floyd and Phil Humber will switch spots in the rotation this week. Floyd will start Thursday’s game against Cleveland, while Humber is slated to go on Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

CINCINNATI—Kerry Wood’s throwing error let two runs score and Chris Heisey followed with a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning that sent the Cincinnati Reds over the very sloppy Cubs 7-5 on a wet Tuesday night. The Cubs self-destructed with four errors in a steady rain. All seven of Cincinnati’s runs were unearned.Wood (1-3) threw wide of third while trying to get a forceout on Ryan Hanigan’s sacrifice bunt, allowing the catcher to go all the way to third base while the tying runs scored. Heisey put the Reds ahead and Joey Votto added an RBI double.The Reds won for the 11th time in 13 games, sweeping the two-game series.Bill Bray (1-0) got the win by retiring the one batter he faced in the eighth. Nick Masset pitched the ninth for his first save in four tries, filling in because closer Francisco Cordero had pitched the last four days.While the Reds reached a season-high at eight games over .500, the Cubs fell to a new low at 17-23, collapsing for the second game in a row. Manager Mike Quade called a closed-door meeting after the Cubs blew a four-run lead and lost 7-4 Monday night. A day later, the Cubs again fell apart in tough conditions — constant rain and 50 degrees.Carlos Pena put the Cubs up with a three-run homer in the first inning off Edinson Volquez, who can’t seem to get through the opening inning without problems. The right-hander has given up runs in six of his nine opening innings. Volquez has allowed 17 earned runs in the first inning, 13 in all other innings combined.It was Pena’s fifth homer and his second in two games.Just like on Monday night, the Cubs gave it away. Starter Matt Garza intentionally walked Ramon Hernandez to load the bases with two outs in the fourth, bringing up Volquez, who doesn’t have a hit this season. Volquez hit a grounder that deflected off Pena’s glove at first for an error. Garza got the ball and compounded the problem by throwing wildly to home, letting in two more runs.The Cubs regained the lead when Jose Arredondo forced home a run with a bases-loaded walk in the seventh. Outfielder Tony Campana, called up before the game, doubled home a run in the eighth in his first big league at-bat for a 7-5 lead. Wood then threw it away.Marlon Byrd matched his career high by striking out four times, ending a 16-game hitting streak that was the best of his career.

NOTES—The Cubs sent Tyler Colvin (.113 batting average) to the minors to work out of his funk and called up Campana from Triple-A Iowa. They also swapped relievers, replacing Marcos Mateo with Scott Maine. … Campana grew up in southwest Ohio and attended the University of Cincinnati. He got 50 tickets for family and friends, who loudly cheered his eighth-inning double. … The Reds activated 3B Juan Francisco (strained left calf) off the 15-day DL and optioned him to Triple-A Louisville.

OAKLAND—Mark Buehrle and the White Sox made it a worthwhile visit to the Coliseum. Alexi Ramirez had three hits, including a home run off the previously unbeaten Trevor Cahill, in leading Buehrle and the White Sox over the Oakland Athletics 4-3 Sunday.Buehrle (3-3) won for only the second time in 15 appearances at Oakland. The White Sox went 6-3 on their road trip, winning all three series.Cahill (6-1) gave up four runs, just two of them earned, and a season-high 10 hits in seven innings.Ramirez drove in two runs and Omar Vizquel had two hits.Daric Barton drove in two runs and Coco Crisp homered for the A’s, who have lost three of their last four.Buehrle gave up three runs, seven hits and struck out a season-best six.Sergio Santos pitched the ninth for his fifth consecutive save, extending his scoreless streak to 19 innings.It was anything but routine, though. He walked Cliff Pennington to lead off the inning and walked pinch-hitter Hideki Matsui with two outs before Josh Willingham grounded out.Ramirez hit Cahill’s first pitch of the fourth inning over the left-field fence.Crisp tied the game with a solo shot in the fifth after Carlos Quentin put the White Sox ahead for good with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.The Sox added two unearned runs in the seventh, when Cahill threw wildly at first on Vizquel’s sacrifice bunt, allowing Alex Rios to score. Ramirez added an RBI single.Barton hit a two-run single in the seventh…..The A’s turned a season-high four double plays, including a 9-3 and a 4-3-6-3.

NOTES—Vizquel moved past George Sisler on the hits list into 46th with 2,813…..Paul Konerko’s fourth-inning single extended his hitting streak to eight games…..The White Sox are the only team to score more than one run against Cahill. They also scored four against him in a game at Chicago…..The last time the A’s turned four or more double plays was Aug. 2, when they had five against Kansas City, also with Cahill on the mound…..A’s closer Andrew Bailey will pitch Tuesday but the venue has yet to be decided…..A’s LHP Dallas Braden’s flight was canceled. He will fly to New York on Monday for shoulder surgery, which will be postponed at least one day.

PHOENIX—Chris Gould nailed a 33-yard field goal with one second remaining on the clock to secure a Rush (6-3) victory over the Arizona Rattlers (7-2) at the US Airways Center on Saturday night.

“This was a great team win tonight,” said Rush Head Coach Bob McMillen. “We battled hard all the way to the end and walked away with an exciting victory.”

Despite trailing throughout the majority of the game, the Rush performed strongly in all three phases against the Rattlers. QB Russ Michna had his strongest performance of the season going 23 for 40 while totaling 267 yards with five touchdowns. WR Reggie Gray was his most consistent target and had nine receptions for 141 yards and three touchdowns in the game. While Michna’s newest receiver and former Rattler, JJ McKelvey, made his Rush debut and scored his first touchdown of the season on a 7-yard reception from Michna in the third quarter.The Rush defense led by DB Vic Hall held the potent Arizona offense to just 49 points throughout the game. The Rattlers’ offense directed by QB Nick Davila was ranked 6th in the league in passing prior to Saturday’s contest. Hall tallied eight tackles on the night while NG Mark Weivoda was credited with two tackles and a key sack. MLB Marcus Waugh also registered an important fumble recovery in the second quarter to end a potential Arizona scoring drive when the Rattlers fumbled within the red zone.Most noticeably, the Rush special teams was a key factor in the victory.Jason Simpson,who had an excellent night returning kickoffs,returned one 54 yards for a touchdown in the second half. Following the final Rush touchdown, they recovered a successful onside kick attempt by Gould with 22 seconds remaining in the game. This onside kick set up the game-winning 33-yard field goal within the final second of play to secure the win over the Rattlers.The Rush will return home next week to take on divisional foe, the Dallas Vigilantes (6-3) next Sunday, May 22nd at 3 p.m. .

OAKLAND—Coco Crisp was caught trying to score the tying run on a straight steal of home in the eighth inning, and the White Sox held off the Oakland Athletics 4-3 Friday.Omar Vizquel had an RBI double during a four-run second inning and Phil Humber pitched well into the seventh. Paul Konerko added two hits for the Sox, who improved to 5-2 on its current road trip.Still, the White Sox are nine games behind first-place Cleveland in the AL Central. Humber (3-3) gave up three runs and six hits in six-plus innings, the fourth straight solid outing by the right-hander. He didn’t walk a batter for the first time in seven starts this season.David DeJesus had two hits for the A’s and needs one more to reach 1,000 for his career.

Ryan Dempster’s new, authoritative approach has paid off.He struck out a season-high 11 and snapped a six-game Wrigley Field losing streak to help the Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 11-4 Friday.Dempster (2-4) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings and the Cubs ended San Francisco’s six-game winning streak. Reed Johnson went 3 for 5 and drove in four runs, three on a bases-loaded triple in the seventh. Darwin Barney was 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and Starlin Castro also had three hits, and drove in two runs.Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner (0-6) gave up two earned runs on five hits through six innings, struck out six and walked two. He hasn’t won since Sept. 30, 2010.Cody Ross hit a two-run homer in the eighth that cut the margin to 8-4. But in the bottom half, the Cubs added three more runs on Castro’s double, Barney’s single and Johnson’s two-out blooper to left field.Dempster struck out Ross his first two times up.Barney’s RBI double off Jeremy Affeldt in the seventh kicked off a five-run outburst. Affeldt then hit Marlon Byrd with a pitch to load the bases before departing. Jeff Baker singled off Guillermo Mota and Johnson followed with a two-out triple.Aubrey Huff drove in the Giants’ first two runs, on a single in the first inning and a double in the fifth. In between the Cubs scored three runs in the bottom of the second. Koyie Hill had a sacrifice bunt, and then came home on Castro’s single with two outs. Barney added a single.

NOTES—A first-inning infield single extended Cubs Byrd’s hitting streak to 14 games….Until Friday, each of the Giants’ previous 19 games had been decided by three or fewer runs, and they led the league in one-run games with 15…..Saturday’s night game against the Giants will be the first Saturday night game at Wrigley Field in nine years…..Cubs right-hander Randy Wells, on the disabled list with a forearm strain, is scheduled to make a rehab start against Quad Cities next Tuesday at Class A Peoria…..Giants right-hander Ryan Vogelsong (2-0) will make his fourth start of the season on Saturday night against Cubs left-hander Doug Davis, who is making his first career start after being promoted from Triple-A Iowa.