CHICAGO — Guard Derrick Rose banked in a 3-pointer as time expired to lift the Chicago Bulls to a 99-96 win on Friday night in Game 3 of an Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series.
Rose finished with 30 points and seven assists to pace the Bulls, who seized a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Guard Jimmy Butler contributed 20 points and eight assists.
Forward LeBron James compiled 27 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds for Cleveland. Guard J.R. Smith added 14 points off the bench, and forward Tristan Thompson had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
The score was tied at 96 with three seconds remaining when the Bulls lined up for an inbounds pass. Forward Mike Dunleavy found Rose, who dribbled to his right and drilled a deep 3-pointer off the glass.
Bulls forward Taj Gibson gave the Bulls a 96-93 lead by making two free throws with 23.5 seconds remaining. Smith evened the score at 96 with 10.8 seconds remaining on his fourth 3-pointer of the game.
Chicago entered the fourth quarter with a 74-73 lead. Rose scored six of the Bulls’ first eight points to open the third quarter. Guard Jimmy Butler added back-to-back shots to spark a 7-0 run midway through the quarter.
Emotions ran high as James and Bulls center Joakim Noah were whistled for technical fouls with 8:33 remaining in the third quarter. James stared down Noah after finishing a dunk, and the Bulls center responded by clapping forcefully and screaming toward James.
Cleveland led 49-47 at the end of a back-and-forth first half that featured seven ties and eight lead changes. Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic came off the bench to score 11 points in the second quarter.
Cleveland responded with eight first-half points from reserve guard Matthew Dellavedova, who finished with 10.
James had seven assists in the first quarter to help the Cavaliers build a 24-18 lead. The Bulls led 15-13 before Cleveland closed the quarter on an 11-3 run that included a half-court alley-oop pass from James to center Timofey Mozgov, who finished the play with a two-handed dunk.
NOTES: Cavaliers G J.R. Smith returned to the court after serving a two-game suspension for punching Boston F Jae Crowder on April 26 in the first round of the playoffs. “He has worked hard these last 12 days to stay ready,” Cleveland coach David Blatt said. … Bulls G Jimmy Butler was presented with the NBA’s Most Improved Player award before the start of Game 3. Butler, 25, averaged 20 points per game and received his first All-Star selection this season. … Cavaliers G Iman Shumpert was cleared to play despite straining a groin on Wednesday. … Bulls C Joakim Noah was fined $25,000 by the NBA for pushing a fan in Cleveland during Game 2. … The Cavaliers’ bus arrived to the United Center about 15 minutes behind schedule because of heavy traffic. “It didn’t seem to bother them,” Blatt said of his players.