CHICAGO, April 21 (UPI) -- Luol Deng scored a game-high 33 points Saturday afternoon as the Chicago Bulls beat Miami, 96-91, in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
Miami led, 28-27, after the first quarter, but trailed, 49-46, at the half, and was stymied at every turn in the third and fourth quarters.
Chicago led by as many as 11 points before time expired.
Ben Gordon had 24 points and 11 assists, reserve Andres Nocioni had 17 points and four rebounds, and Deng had eight rebounds. Defensive wizard Ben Wallace had four points, 14 rebounds and two blocked shots for the Bulls, who are trying to advance past the opening round for the first time since 1998, when they last won the NBA title.
Dwyane Wade led Miami with 21 points and three assists. Antoine Walker scored 20 points, and Shaquille O'Neal added 19 points and six rebounds for the defending NBA champion Heat, who eliminated Chicago in the first round last season.
