Bulls face elimination versus Heat

The Miami Heat are proving once again that the NBA�s regular season carries very little water as they get set to take on the Chicago Bulls in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday night at the United Center (8:30 PM ET, TNT).

The Heat took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with a 101-93 overtime win over the Bulls in Game 4 on Tuesday night at American Airlines Arena, as they covered as 5-point favorites at oddsmaker.ag to improve to 3-1 ATS in the set.

LeBron James went for 35 points, six rebounds, and six assists for Miami, which got 22 points and six boards from Chris Bosh, but the Heat also got a sizable contribution from their bench.

Mike Miller finally put his imprint on Miami�s postseason run with 12 points and nine rebounds and was a game-high +36, while Udonis Haslem chipped in with nine boards and was a +25.

Derrick Rose vowed to be more aggressive following Chicago�s loss in Game 3, but he may have shot the Bulls out of the series. The regular season MVP did lead Chicago with 23 points and six assists on Tuesday, but he was only 8 of 27 from the floor including a dismal 1 of 9 from three-point range.

If the Heat don�t have Rose figured out, they�ve certainly turned the tide on what happened between the teams prior to the East Finals. The Bulls won all three meetings and went 2-0-1 ATS against the Heat during the regular season, but that seems like an eternity ago.

Both teams came into the postseason on a high note, but it�s been Miami that�s truly peaked at the right time. The Heat are 11-3 SU and 9-5 ATS in the playoffs, including 7-3 against the number (8-2 SU) in their last 10 games, while the Bulls have sputtered at 7-8 ATS (9-6 SU) after raking in the cash for bettors during the regular season.

The teams split the first two games of the series at the United Center both SU and ATS. Chicago won Game 1, 103-82 as 2.5-point favorites, and Miami (+2.5) evened up the series with an 85-75 victory in Game 2.

James posted 29 points and 10 rebounds in that game, with Dwyane Wade going for 24 points and nine boards, as the Heat held the Bulls to 34.1% (28 of 82) shooting. Rose led Chicago with 21 points, eight assists, and six rebounds.

The Bulls were 2.5-point chalk at tip-off in Game 2, and bettors can expect a similar number for Game 5. If anything, public money on the surging Heat figures to drive the line in their direction prior to Thursday night.