MIAMI—It was the biggest postseason win in Miami Heat history, and the biggest postseason loss in Bulls history.
And it might have been actually worse than that sounds.Ray Allen scored 21 points in only 19 minutes, LeBron James finished with 19 points and nine assists, and the Heat led by as many as 46 points on the way to a 115-78 victory on Wednesday night in Game 2 of their series, now knotted at one Sure, the Heat have lost home-court advantage in these Eastern Conference semifinals. But an absolute domination of the Bulls made the reigning NBA champions look like the clear-cut team to beat in this title race once again.

“We’re still in the hole,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, whose team will need to win at least one game in Chicago if it’s going to prevail in this series.

But given how one-sided Wednesday was, that wouldn’t seem like too tall a challenge.Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson were ejected in the fourth quarter for the Bulls, and the league will almost certainly review some of the things said and done in a game that was close for the first 20 minutes before turning into an embarrassment for the Bulls and an embarrassment of riches for the Heat. The Bulls were called for six player technicals, the most by any team in a playoff game since Boston had that many against Indiana in 2005.

“I don’t know how many techs we got. … I would call that not keeping your cool, not being very Zen,” Noah said.

The Heat had three technicals assessed, a season-high for them.Game 3 is Friday in the United Center.Norris Cole scored 18 points for Miami, which got 15 from Dwyane Wade and 13 from Chris Bosh. The Heat led 42-38 with 3:42 left in the first half, before going on an absurd 62-20 run.Yes, 62-20.It was that one-sided. Miami shot 60 percent to the Bulls 36, outrebounded Tom Thibodeau’s team 41-28, and enjoyed a huge edges in points off turnovers (28-7) and fast-break points (20-2).The only stat that the Bulls dominated: Technicals, where they outpaced Miami 6-3.

“We got sidetracked and you can’t do that,” Bulls coach Thibodeau said. “We allowed frustration to carry over to the next play. … You come in here, you’re not going to get calls. That’s reality.”

Marco Belinelli scored 13 for the Bulls, who got 12 from Noah and 11 from Nate Robinson.For much of the first half, it was everything one would expect from a Bulls-Heat game, especially after the Visitors took Game 1 on Monday night. It was physical — Udonis Haslem sent Robinson flying on the game’s first possession, and Belinelli hammered Wade on the ensuing Miami trip, one that ended with Wade getting the first of the game’s nine technical fouls for throwing the ball into the Bulls’ guard.

James wore a T-shirt that said “Up To Me” before the game, and it appeared the message had some literal meaning. After being held to two first-half points in Game 1, he went 6 for 6 in the opening quarter of Game 2, as Miami took a 25-20 lead.

“I wanted to be aggressive,” James said.

It was still close late in the second, before the Heat ended the half on a 13-3 run, one where Cole and Robinson looked like they were playing 1-on-1 — and the Miami guard was getting much the best of Bulls postseason hero so far.Robinson made a 3-pointer to get the Bulls within 49-41, then turned and said some words toward Cole. So Cole quickly had an answer, hitting one corner 3-pointer over Robinson and letting him know about it, then making another 30 seconds later to give Miami what was then its biggest lead of the night.Of course, it didn’t stay that way.

“You just stay the course and understand what we’re here for and it’s to win the basketball game,” James said. “We were able to do that tonight.”

James didn’t score in the third quarter – he missed all three of his shots – and still was dominant, with five assists in that period alone, as the Heat turned it into a laugher. They outscored the Bulls 30-15 in the third, stretching the lead out to 31 points as they missed 13 of its 17 shots in the period.

“We’re capable of much better and we’re going to have to be a lot better,” Thibodeau said.

Then in the fourth, with the game already lost, the Bulls lost what was left of their composure.Noah got ejected with 10:13 left, and while that mess was being sorted out, Gibson got two more technicals and joined his teammate in the visiting locker room.

“I just wanted to let the referee, I wanted to let him know, how I felt about the game,” Noah said.

Even TNT announcer Steve Kerr, a former Bulls player, questioned the officiating at that point.

“I don’t blame Gibson,” Kerr said as Gibson left the court, television cameras catching him direct a stream of what appeared to be profanities toward either referees, players or both.

By the time most players were dressed after the game Wednesday, Noah was already looking ahead to Friday.

“We didn’t play well, but it’s not the end of the world,” Noah said. “It’s 1-1, and it’s going to be a big game in Chicago.”

NOTES—Jimmy Butler’s streak of consecutive minutes played ended when he took a seat 12 seconds into the second quarter. He logged more than 160 consecutive minutes…..The Heat were 9 for 18 from 3-point range…..James didn’t score in the second half…..Miami’s biggest postseason win had been a 35-point victory over Orlando on April 24, 1997.

Patrick Sharp scores in the first period and again early in the second to stake the Blackhawks to a 2-0 advantage. (USATSI)

ST. PAUL—The Blackhawks were beaten the last game in the corners, along the boards and by an overtime goal for the Minnesota Wild.By hurling their bodies in front of puck after puck, the Blackhawks stopped the Wild’s momentum right where it started. Patrick Sharp scored two goals and the Blackhawks ratcheted up their defense to put the Wild on the brink of elimination with a 3-0 victory on Tuesday.

“It’s just been a calm, collected confidence we’ve had all year. I think we definitely showed that tonight,” said goalie Corey Crawford, who made 25 saves for his second career playoff shutout. “So many power play situations for them, and we just kept our cool. We didn’t freak out on the refs or lose it on each other. We just stuck with it.”

Bryan Bickell also scored for the Blackhawks, who built a 3-1 lead in this best-of-seven matchup. Game 5 is back in Chicago on Thursday night.

“People want to make a big deal of the hits. That’s fine. We’ve won physical games before,” Sharp said. “We’ve won games with our speed and playmaking ability. So whatever the type of game is out there, I feel confident in our guys.”

The Wild had another goalie get hurt when Josh Harding’s injury forced Darcy Kuemper into action after the first intermission. Sharp scored on the Hawks first shot at the rookie 62 seconds into the second period.

Minnesota, the only one of the 16 NHL playoff teams without a power-play goal this postseason, went scoreless in six such situations (including one 66 seconds into the game and a back-to-back set in the third period) and is 0 for 15 in the series.

“Just being smart in lanes and battling for pucks. That’s been a positive for our team all year,” said Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith, who joined the team right before the game after being with his wife earlier in the day for the birth of their first child.

When Niklas Backstrom was injured warming up before Game 1, Harding was sent in. This time, Harding was hurt after Jonathan Toews landed on top of him during a collision in the crease. Harding’s legs were straddled around the left post. He got up gingerly, staying in to finish the opening period after shaking his left leg back and forth several times and testing it with a slow skate behind the net. But Harding didn’t return to the bench, and Kuemper was in.

Kuemper, who made only three starts this season, had a tough initiation to the playoffs. Sharp stole an off-target pass by Zach Parise at the Wild blue line, skated the other way with a one-on-one and sent a wrist shot between Kuemper’s pads for a 2-0 lead that deflated the energy in the arena.

“I was going to shoot that puck. It didn’t matter who was in net,” Sharp said.

Harding stopped five of six shots; Kuemper made 16 saves. He also gave up Bickell’s third goal of the series, in the third period on a shot that scraped the top of the net. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville had little sympathy, and Wild coach Mike Yeo declined to ask for any.

“I’ve seen a lot of crazy things in the playoffs. You’ve got to predict the unpredictable,” Quenneville said.

Ultimately, though, the guy between the pipes wasn’t going to matter much for the Wild the way this game went.The Blackhawks haven’t been themselves as an offense in this series, save for the 5-2 victory in Game 2, but that’s another testament to their dominance. They’ve got the depth everywhere on the roster to sustain a lagging top line. Marian Hossa, Toews and Brandon Saad have combined for only one goal, and Toews and Saad don’t even have an assist yet.But the Wild have had the same problem, and they’re not nearly as equipped to withstand it. Parise, Mikko Koivu and Charlie Coyle have combined for only one goal themselves, and together they’ve posted a minus-14 rating over four games.

“It probably wasn’t the greatest of nights. But I’ll say this: If you know them the way that I do, you’d be really excited to watch them play the next game,” Yeo said.

Even with Jason Pominville’s sharp shot back on the point with the first power play unit, the home team kept misfiring. Whether a one-timer that zipped wide of the net or a slap shot blocked by one of the self-sacrificing Blackhawks, they blocked 20 shots over the first two periods and finished with 26 for the game.Minnesota attempted 68 shots to the Blackhawks 46.And the Wild, in addition to their struggles with shooting accuracy, paid for a couple of sloppy plays. There was Parise’s intercepted pass in the second period. And midway through the opening period, Hossa picked off a pass from Koivu to Parise in the Wild zone. Hossa sent the puck to Handzus, whose slap shot was tipped in by a perfectly positioned Sharp at the edge of the crease.

NOTES—Keith came right to the arena from the airport. “I might sleep until the next game. I haven’t slept yet, so it will be nice to close my eyes,” he said…..Pominville returned from a two-week absence after taking an elbow to the chin from former Hawk Dustin Brown in a game against Los Angeles…..Sharp has 27 goals in 68 career playoff games, behind only Hossa (37 in 134) on the Blackhawks…..Backstrom appeared on the bench in full gear for the third period. Yeo said he’d update the goalie situation Wednesday.

Nate Robinson overcomes a busted lip to score 27 points for the Bulls, who score the final 10 points to steal Game 1 in Miami. (Getty Images)

MIAMI—Nate Robinson was spitting blood in the first half, then delivered the deepest cuts of the night in the final moments. And the Bulls reminded the Miami Heat that no one in the NBA plays them any tougher.Yes, the streakbusters struck again.Robinson scored 27 points, Jimmy Butler added 21 points and a career-high-tying 14 rebounds, and the Bulls beat Miami 93-86 on Monday night in Game 1 of the teams’ Eastern Conference semifinal series. The team that snapped Miami’s 27-game winning streak in the regular season — the second-longest in NBA history — found a way to topple the champs again, this time ending a run of 12 straight Heat victories overall.

“I’ve played on some tough teams,” Robinson said. “But this one, there’s something a little different, something special about this group.”

A seven-point deficit midway through the fourth wasn’t enough to doom the Bulls, who finished the game on a 10-0 run in the final 1:59. And to think, the Bulls weren’t anywhere near full strength. Kirk Hinrich was out again with a calf injury. Luol Deng isn’t even expected to rejoin the team until Tuesday, after dealing with an illness apparently so severe that a spinal tap — and other tests since — were needed to rule out things like meningitis.

“So proud of my team man, this bed might be good luck after all,” Deng wrote on Twitter after the game, with a photo of him in a hospital bed.

Oh, and Derrick Rose remains sidelined, as he’s been since April 2012.No problem. The Heat are 41-3 in their last 44 games — with two of those losses to the Bulls, who are now 3-2 against Miami this season.

“I think when you’re facing adversity, you have to be mentally tough,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “But this is just one game. We have to play a lot better in our next one.”

LeBron James got his MVP trophy from Commissioner David Stern before the game, then struggled to a two-point first half before finishing with 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Miami. Dwyane Wade added 14 for the Heat, who had no one else in double figures, finished shooting 40 percent from the floor and were outrebounded 46-32.

“I’m not stunned,” James said. “This is what the playoffs is all about. We’re going against a really good team.”

Miami was outscored 35-24 in the fourth, something that drew the ire of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra afterward.

“There’s no excuses,” said Spoelstra, whose team had not played in more than a week. “We’re not making any excuses for time off or anything else.”

If anyone could have made excuses, it was Robinson. He needed 10 stitches, five in his lip and five more inside his mouth, to close a nasty cut that came when he dove for a loose ball with James and struck his head on the court late in the first half.And then not only did he play the whole second half, he scored 24 points in those 24 minutes, including the last seven points that finished the job.

“He was born a scorer,” Miami guard Mario Chalmers said.

Joakim Noah scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Bulls, who got 12 from Taj Gibson and 10 from Marco Belinelli. Game 2 is Wednesday night in Miami.

“We’re not really a flashy team,” Gibson said. “We like to go out and do our job.”

A pair of three-point plays by James — one of them coming when he just broke through a tackle attempt by Butler and muscled the ball to the rim anyway — gave Miami a 76-69 lead midway through the fourth quarter, the biggest deficit the Bulls faced all night,they were undeterred.Coming off a Game 7 road win in Brooklyn two nights earlier just to get into a series with Miami, the Bulls just kept grinding. When Ray Allen made a 3-pointer to give Miami an 80-78 lead, Butler came back with one of his own to put the Bulls back on top. When the Heat went up by three after James made a free throw with 2:22 left, Belinelli connected for 3 — on a second-effort possession — to knot the game.Then when Robinson connected on a 20-footer with 1:18 left, the Bulls had the lead and plenty of swagger.Wade missed a 3-pointer on the next possession, Robinson drove the lane and scored with 45.5 seconds left, and suddenly the Bulls were up 90-86. James drove against Butler and tried a 12-footer that missed everything, the Bulls got the rebound, Robinson made a free throw to stretch the lead to five and the stunner was complete.Game 1 to the Bulls.

“It’s all about being tough,” said Butler, who played all 48 minutes for the third straight game. “We’re always going to be the underdogs and we take pride in that. Everybody can overlook us, but we feel like we’re good enough to hang with a lot of these teams.”

It was a night that started with a celebration, James getting his MVP award from the commissioner.

“Thank you so much,” James said. “And let’s get ready to go.”

And with that, the game started.Problem was, no one was ready to go.The Heat missed their first seven shots — maybe rust really was a factor. It was 37-all at the half and James wore twice as many pairs of sneakers in the opening two quarters (two) as he had field goals (one). He had two points at the break, the lowest of his 120-game postseason career, on just 1 for 6 shooting.He opened the second half with a 3-pointer, so the shoes were a quick fix.But the Bulls were in for the long haul, and after James made the consecutive three-point plays to open a seven-point lead, the Visitors answered with seven straight points, knotting the game at 76-all when Belinelli made a 3-pointer with just under five minutes left.Momentum belonged to the Bulls, and soon, so did the game.

“It’s just one game,” Belinelli said.

NOTES—James has played 885 regular-season and playoff games. He’s scored less than two points in a first half only twice, being shut out by Dallas on Oct. 31, 2007 and Dec. 20, 2010. He scored exactly two points on five other occasions before Monday….Wade dove into the second row of seats to save an errant ball, and grimaced after appearing to hit his sore right knee. “I wish somebody would have grabbed me. That would have been kind of nice, especially at home,” Wade said….The Bulls had 17 second-chance points on only nine offensive rebounds.

ST. PAUL—Jason Zucker scored at 2:15 of overtime to give Minnesota a 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks on Sunday, pulling the Wild within 2-1 in the Western Conference quarterfinal series.Zach Parise scored for the Wild early in the third period, but Duncan Keith got one back for the Blackhawks with 2:46 left in regulation to force the second overtime in three games of this best-of-7 series. Game 4 is here on Tuesday night.After taking the top-seeded Blackhawks to overtime in Game 1 at the United Center, the Wild fell flat and lost 5-2 in Game 2. They took full advantage of the shift in venue and fed off the noise and excitement in the building in Minnesota’s first home playoff game in five years.Johnny Oduya had given the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 13-:26 of the first period on a wrist shot, but Pierre-Marc Bouchard tied the game at 1-1 at 18:30 by backhanding his own rebound past Corey Crawford. The second period was scorless.Minnesota outshot the Hawks 37-27.

BROOKLN—Joakim Noah climbed over the baseline seats to embrace his mother.The first Game 7 in Brooklyn belonged not to the Nets, but to the guy who played here in high school.

“I’ll remember this for the rest of my life,” Noah said.

Injured, ill and just as determined as ever, the Bulls beat the Nets 99-93 on Saturday night to win the first-round series.Noah had 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Marco Belinelli also scored 24 points to help the Bulls advance to a second-round series against defending champion Miami that starts Monday night.Carlos Boozer added 17 points as the Bulls shook off injuries to two starters and every run the Nets tried to make in the second half to win a Game 7 on the road for the first time in franchise history.

“I’m just so proud of this team. We’ve been fighting through so much all year and to be in this situation, play on the biggest stage in the world and to be able to win and now play against the Heat, all these experiences, I (don’t) take those for granted,” Noah said.

The Bulls opened a 17-point halftime lead with a rare offensive outburst and found a way to get big baskets every time the Nets pulled close to win the NBA’s only do-or-die game of the first round.

“I thought our guys, we took a big punch in Game 1 and we kept fighting back and that’s been the story of the season,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said.

Former Illini Deron Williams had 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Nets. They were trying to become the ninth NBA team to win a series after trailing 3-1.But they had a horrendous first-half defensive performance and Joe Johnson was bad all game on offense, finishing with six points on 2-of-14 shooting, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range.With Luol Deng (illness) and Kirk Hinrich (bruised left calf) out again and Derrick Rose still not ready to return from last year’s torn ACL, the Bulls leaned on Noah, who could barely play when the Bulls were blown out here two weeks ago in Game 1 because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He logged 41 minutes and shot 12 of 17 while also blocking six shots Saturday.

“It’s disappointing. We won Game 6, we felt like this was our series, but they came out and played a great game,” Williams said. “Noah, like I said, he’s a warrior. He battled through his injuries and just had a monster game. We really had no answers for him down low tonight.”

Noah helped the Bulls spoil the Nets’ first home Game 7 in their NBA history at the end of their first season in Brooklyn. They had played only one Game 7 in all their years while they were based in New Jersey, falling at Detroit in 2004.The Bulls improved to 1-6 in road Game 7s.Deng, tested for meningitis earlier in the week, was back in the hospital Friday night and unable to travel. Hinrich warmed up in hopes of playing before he was ruled out.It didn’t matter to the Bulls, who backed up Thibodeau’s vow that they would have no excuses and play well.Coming out ready to work, the Bulls got their first two baskets on offensive rebounds by Boozer and Noah, and they led most of the first quarter before bringing a 29-25 lead to the second on Taj Gibson’s jumper with 0.8 seconds left.It was 40-36 before the Bulls took control with solid offensive execution and poor Nets defense. Noah had consecutive baskets before seldom-used Daequan Cook made a 3-pointer to cap an 11-2 run, and after a basket by Andray Blatche, Boozer, Nate Robinson and Noah ran off the next six points to give the Bulls a 57-40 lead as the crowd began to boo.”I think we weren’t as aggressive as they were, especially on the boards and the defensive end in the first half,” Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said.The Bulls capped it with a stunningly easy dunk by Boozer with 1.2 seconds left off an inbounds pass, sending the Bulls to the locker room with a 61-44 advantage.Brooklyn burst out of the locker room with a 10-4 run, and back-to-back 3-pointers later in the third period by Gerald Wallace kicked off an 11-2 surge that got the Nets within 69-65 on Williams’ free throw with 5:29 left.Jimmy Butler hit a 3-pointer and Robinson scored to steady the Bulls and push the lead back to nine, and they led 82-75 after three.The Nets opened the fourth with just one point in the first five minutes as consecutive baskets by Boozer pushed the lead back into double digits. The Nets kept trying to get back in it, getting it all the way down to four on a 3-pointer by Williams with 26 seconds left, but Belinelli hit four free throws from there.Brook Lopez had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Wallace finished with 19 points for the Nets, who finished a successful first season in Brooklyn in a disappointing way, getting booed late in the first half while allowing the Bulls to make eight of their final 12 shots.Robinson finished with 12 points in his second straight start in place of Hinrich.

NOTES—The Bulls open the Eastern Conference Semi Finals Monday night in Miami…..Rihanna, whose concert that was scheduled here for Saturday was postponed to Tuesday night after the Nets forced Game 7, sat in the courtside seats belonging to fellow music star Jay-Z….New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia was in the crowd — wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers hat.

Patrick Sharp provided the big finish after Michael Frolik stepped up during a strong start. Corey Crawford was right there when the defense collapsed.No playoff jitters this time. Instead, an impressive performance for the Blackhawks.Sharp and Frolik had two goals apiece, Crawford made 26 saves and the Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild 5-2 on Friday night in Game 2 of their first-round series.

“If we’re moving our feet, we’re playing our team game,” Sharp said. “The goals are going to come whenever they come, but if we’re playing Blackhawks hockey, we’ll be better off.”

Patrick Kane added two assists as he and his teammates peppered Minnesota goalie Josh Harding after an uneven performance in Game 1 on Tuesday night. Bryan Bickell added an empty-net score to his overtime goal in the Blackhawks’ 2-1 victory in the playoff opener.Game 3 is Sunday afternoon in Minnesota.

“It’s a good start,” Frolik said. “Everybody knows we can still be better. We try to improve every game. It’s going to be tough in Minny and we have to be ready for it.”

Devin Setoguchi and Marco Scandella scored for the Wild, who are making their first postseason appearance in five years. Harding, once again subbing for Niklas Backstrom, made 43 saves.

“There was clearly another level to their game tonight and I’d say there’s at least another level to ours that was unfortunately in the wrong direction,” Minnesota coach Mike Yeo said.

Setoguchi gave the Wild a spark when he teamed with Matt Cullen for a beautiful 2-on-1 rush at end of the second period. Cullen passed across the ice to Setoguchi, who beat Crawford into the upper right corner to trim the lead to 2-1.But the Blackhawks turned up the pressure in the third period, and Sharp stuffed one in from the right side of the net to restore the two-goal advantage. Kane then made a slick pass to set up Sharp’s 25th career playoff goal, putting the game away with six minutes left.

“For us, we’ve got to keep shooting the puck, crash the net, and usually when you do that, plays will open up,” Kane said.

It was one sweet night for Sharp, who missed much of the season with a shoulder injury. He had only six goals and 14 assists in 28 games while thge Hawks rolled to the Presidents’ Trophy for most points in the league this season.The Blackhawks improved to 27-0-3 with the 31-year-old forward in the lineup.

“I thought he had a good game,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “He had a big hit early in the game. That line was effective.”

Minnesota squeaked into the playoffs with a victory over Colorado in its final game. But the Blackhawks got off to a slow start in Game 1 and the Wild came close to stealing home-ice advantage.While chalking up their slow first period in the playoff opener to nerves, the Blackhawks focused on a better beginning to Game 2 and delivered.

“That’s something we talked about,” Quenneville said. “Very disappointing the other night. We were more on the receiving end. They scored first and we watched a little bit. We didn’t dictate how the game should be played as far as how fast we wanted it. Tonight, we were much more effective.”

The Hawks pressured Harding early on and finished with 17 shots in the first period, compared to seven for Minnesota. And even with all that pressure, the Blackhawks needed a couple of fortunate caroms to build a 2-0 lead.Andrew Shaw’s slap shot deflected off Justin Falk and went underneath fellow Wild defenseman Tom Gilbert to Frolik, who flipped it into the upper left corner to put the Hawks in front with 11:26 left in the first period. Frolik was in the right place at the right time again in the second, sending Duncan Keith’s deflected pass through Harding’s legs just 49 seconds into the period.It was the first short-handed goal allowed by the Wild all season and lifted Frolik to six goals in 13 career playoff games.

“The first one was a pretty lucky bounce,” he said. “I just tried to go to the net and the puck came to me. The second goal, it came to me again. I just shot it there.”

Shaw also had two assists for the Hawks, who are 19-2 in playoff series when winning the first two games. Crawford turned away repeated attempts by Zach Parise during one stout stretch with Minnesota on a power play in the second period.The Wild played without Backstrom and forward Jason Pominville for the second straight game, and defenseman Clayton Stoner also was sidelined by an injury. The return of those players could be key to Minnesota staying in the series.

“You just have to find a way to win,” said Harding, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis last summer, but refuses to talk about the condition. “It doesn’t matter how many shots they get, how much zone time they get, how much power play, anything, it doesn’t matter. It’s playoff time and we have to find a way to win.”

NOTES—Minnesota hasn’t won a playoff game since a 3-2 victory at Colorado on April 14, 2008. The Wild lost the last three games of that quarterfinal series, and then went five years without a postseason appearance before they lost to the Blackhawks on Tuesday night…. Frolik’s short-handed goal was the first for the Blackhawks in the playoffs since Game 7 of the 2011 Western Conference quarterfinals against Vancouver.

Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson each scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets again avoided elimination, beating the short-handed Bulls 95-92 on Thursday to tie their first-round series at 3.The series goes back to Brooklyn for Game 7 on Saturday. The winner will get Miami in the second round.The Bulls hung in until the end even though they were missing Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich.A layup by Nazr Mohammed cut the Nets’ lead to 93-92 with 25.2 seconds remaining.Nate Robinson then fouled Andray Blatche, who had missed a free throw only moments earlier. This time, he hit both to make it a three-point game with 19.2 seconds left.The Bulls had a chance to tie it, but Marco Belinelli missed a 3-pointer and Joakim Noah stepped out of bounds with about six seconds left.The Bulls still had a chance, though.Noah tied up Williams after the inbounds, resulting in a jump ball with 3.6 seconds left.Johnson controlled the ball, and the Nets hung on.Gerald Wallace added 15 points as Brooklyn won its second straight.Only eight NBA teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-7 series, but the Nets are in position to do just that.It helped that Hinrich missed his second straight game with a bruised left calf and that Deng was sidelined with flu-like symptoms, forcing the Bulls to shuffle their lineup.Belinelli started at shooting guard with Jimmy Butler moving to small forward and scored 22 points. Robinson started his second straight game with Hinrich injured and finished with 18 points. Butler had 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists.Noah added 14 points and 15 rebounds. Carlos Boozer scored 14 and grabbed 13 boards.The Nets were leading 81-73 early in the fourth after 3-pointers by Wallace and C.J. Watson.Robinson wowed the crowd when he faked picking up his dribble for a jumper and drove past a leaping Kris Humphries for a layup that made it 83-79 with about 7:30 remaining.Noah scored on a tip-in that made it 87-85 with four minutes left. Then, after Lopez dunked, he rotated over for a huge block of Lopez, delighting the crowd.The fans were really screaming when Belinelli made a 3 to pull the Bulls within 90-88 with 2:19 remaining.Blatche then banked in a fadeaway with 1:15 remaining, but Robinson quickly answered with just over a minute left.He also missed a driving layup with 32 seconds to play. Boozer got called for a loose ball foul on the play, and Blatche hit the second free throw to make it 93-90.

NOTES—This is the first time the Bulls have been forced to a 7th game after leading 3 games to 1.The have never lost a series in which the led 3-1…..Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo had this to say about facing a short-handed Bulls team: “Starting with Derrick, their franchise player hasn’t played. It seems almost every time we play them, it’s a different roster.”

All a great regular season got the Blackhawks when they playoffs began Tuesday night was a lot of extra work.At least they started the playoffs on a winning note.Bryan Bickell scored in overtime on a two-on-one rush, and the Blackhawks escaped with a victory after dominating the regular season, beating the Minnesota Wild 2-1 on Tuesday night.Corey Crawford settled down after allowing a weak goal in the opening minutes. Marian Hossa also scored, and the Blackhawks took the early lead in this first-round series.Game 2 will be Friday at the United Center.

“We just needed to stay patient,” Bickell said. “We were getting our opportunities. Not odd-man rushes like they were, but we got the one, and to capitalize on it is huge. With our speed, through the whole season a lot of teams were trying to shut us down and let us get frustrated.”

The Blackhawks finally put this one away when Johnny Oduya chipped the puck off the boards up to Viktor Stalberg on the right side. Stalberg then dished it on the two-on-one rush to Bickell, who was all alone for the winning backhander at 16:35.Big things are expected here in Chicago after a spectacular regular season that included a record start and the team’s first Presidents’ Trophy since 1991.The Blackhawks are eyeing a run to the Stanley Cup for the second time in four years. They have been eliminated in the first round the past two seasons after beating Philadelphia for the championship in 2010, and they realize that for all they accomplished thus far in 2013, they’ll ultimately be judged by what happens in the playoffs.

“Everybody’s patting ourselves on the back and we’ve got to prove it,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “That’s where we’re at. I think that [being] satisfied with what we achieved doesn’t do anything. I think we want to make sure that we’re looking for bigger goals and that’s playing better each and every game here and pick up the level of intensity for the playoff.”

They seemingly caught a break before the game when Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom was scratched because of a leg injury suffered while reaching for a puck in the pregame warmups.Josh Harding replaced him and more than held his own after being limited to just five games following a multiple sclerosis diagnosis last summer. Harding made 35 saves.

“Phenomenal,” coach Mike Yeo said. “It’s hard to sit here and try to paint an accurate picture of what he’s gone through, because I have no idea, we have no idea. He’s a guy that, certainly, for many reasons you’re rooting for.”

Harding didn’t want to talk about his medical condition. But he did shrug off the late change, saying he was ready to play.

“After warm-up I was preparing just like I was going to play until somebody came and told me no, and no one came and told me, so I just went on with my business,” he said.

As for Backstrom, Yeo didn’t have much of an update, although he did say, “It was a bit of a curveball to say the least.”

The Wild, trying to match what the Los Angeles Kings did a year ago and win the Stanley Cup as an 8 seed, took the lead just under five minutes into the game when Cal Clutterbuck fooled Crawford with a soft shot from the left circle.The goal on Minnesota’s first shot brought back some bad memories for Blackhawks fans who remember him allowing several soft goals in the playoffs against Phoenix a year ago.Hossa tied it just over two minutes into the second period, streaking down the left side, getting behind Minnesota’s Jonas Brodin and firing the puck between Harding’s pads after taking a feed from Patrick Kane.Harding made a big save with his right pad from point-blank range on Kane after he beat Marco Scandella in the opening minutes of the third period to preserve the 1-1 tie.The Hawks appeared to take the lead midway through the third. Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon fell on a loose puck just outside the crease, and the Blackhawks kept swatting at it. Jonathan Toews knocked it into the net, but the whistle had already blown.Blackhawks fans responded with some nasty chants, but they were letting out big sighs of relief two minutes later when a wraparound shot by Minnesota’s Jason Zucker slid across the crease.After five of their six playoff games against Phoenix last year went to overtime, the Blackhawks found themselves in a familiar spot.They almost won it in OT when Hossa skated toward the net and drew Harding to the ice, but the goalie barely deflected his backhanded shot. Crawford then had a big blocker save on Zach Parise.

“We were able to battle through a lot today,” Crawford said. “We battled through that first goal, had a couple of PKs [penalty kills] in overtime, one in the third there. Our guys did a solid job. It was definitely a good test for us.”

NOTES—Wild RW Jason Pominville sat out this game, after missing the final two of the regular season following an elbow to the chin by Dustin Brown of the Los Angeles Kings. … Kane is sporting a playoff mullet again. “I think it’s fun,” he said. “It’s good for a good laugh or two. It’s something that’s been a little bit of a tradition.” The youthful looking Kane gained national attention when he grew the mullet for the championship run in 2010 and he went with it again the following year. He went with a beard, instead, last year. But on Tuesday, he was all business up front and party in the back. … The Blackhawks were without Ray Emery and Dave Bolland because of lower body injuries.