Another effort like this will seal it.

James scored 27 points and the Heat nearly matched a franchise record for fewest points allowed in a playoff game, pounding the listless and short-handed Bulls 88-65 on Monday night to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

“We worked for it,” Heat forward Chris Bosh said. “I never like to say that things are easy.”

The Heat sure made it look that way, though.

The 65 points allowed were only two more than the all-time postseason low for a Miami opponent, and it was easily the worst offensive performance by a Chicago team in the playoffs.

Never before had the Bulls scored fewer than 69 in a playoff game nor 10 or less in a quarter during the postseason, but both those marks fell on a night when they were dominated on both ends of the floor.

Miami led by 11 at the half and put this one away in the third quarter, outscoring Chicago 17-9 in the period.

Now the Heat will try to wrap up the series at home Wednesday night, taking what they hope will be the next step toward a second straight championship.

It’s hard to believe the Bulls won the series opener the way the past three games have gone.

Miami pounded Chicago in Game 2, coming away with its most lopsided playoff victory while handing the Bulls their worst ever postseason loss — and the Heat continued to roll from there.

James had his usual complete game, with eight assists and seven rebounds Monday.

Bosh finished with 14 points after scoring 20 and grabbing 19 rebounds in Game 3, and the Heat won again despite another quiet night from Dwyane Wade (six points), whose right knee was bothering him again. He appeared to land hard on it taking a fallaway jumper in the third quarter but was able to return to the game after getting re-taped.

“It’s frustrating at times, but you just try to do what you can,” Wade said.

Norris Cole also struggled with seven points after back-to-back 18-point performances, but the Heat had more than enough in this one.

They shot about 49 percent while the Bulls set a franchise playoff low at 25.7 percent. Chicago was particularly bad from the outside, going 2 for 17 from 3-point range.

The Bulls again were missing ailing Luol Deng and injured Kirk Hinrich (calf), and a team that kept finding ways to win despite being short-handed all season simply appeared to run out of steam, even though coach Tom Thibodeau rejected that idea.

“No,” he said. “I think the thing is they’re [Heat] a great team. We have to come out with great intensity — but we also have to make shots.”

There’s no denying the Bulls have been in a tough spot all season with Derrick Rose recovering from knee surgery and just about every other major player sidelined at some point. They’ve been hit particularly hard in the postseason, too.

“They’re in a tough situation,” James said. “They’ve had some injuries and illnesses and whatever’s going on. They don’t have their full roster, but that’s not for us to worry about. They beat a very good Brooklyn team [in the first round] without their full roster.”

Carlos Boozer had 14 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double in the postseason but was just 3-of-14 from the field. Jimmy Butler scored 12 and Joakim Noah grabbed nine rebounds, but it was a miserable night for Chicago — particularly Nate Robinson. With Cole and Mario Chalmers harassing him and the big men helping out, he missed all 12 of his shots and did not score.

He said he fell hard on his left shoulder on a pick-and-roll at one point, although he couldn’t remember exactly when, and had it wrapped in ice afterward. Then he took off the wrapping and threw it hard to the floor.

“Go back to the drawing board and figure it out,” he said.

Richard Hamilton scored 11 points in a rare postseason appearance, and the former All-Star guard made it clear afterward he’s not thrilled with his reduced role.

“Lot of stuff in life you don’t understand,” he said. “This [playoffs] is what I was brought here for. To not be able play and help my teammates, it’s hard, it’s rough. But I try to stay positive. I don’t try to rock the boat.”

Hamilton said he and Thibodeau have talked. Then, he reiterated, “It’s hard to understand.”

James scored 15 points and Bosh added 12 in the first half to help the Heat take a 44-33 lead at the break, but that doesn’t even come close to telling the complete story.

Consider this.

Miami shot less than 53 percent, with the Bulls at about 27 percent. Chicago was also 1 of 11 on 3-pointers, and the only conversion from long range came from Hamilton.

“We’re kind of putting screws and bandages everywhere. It’s frustrating,” Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. “Every night and every day.”

Game notes

The Heat and Bulls were well represented on the NBA’s all-defensive first team, with James and Noah being selected. … Thibodeau had nothing to say about the $35,000 fine from the league for comments he made about the officiating in Game 3. Asked if he was surprised by the amount, he said, “I’ve got no comment on that. We’re just getting ready for Game 4.” … Deng was listed as active after initially being ruled out for Chicago. Hinrich and Rose were inactive.

The post LeBron James, Heat stymie Bulls for 3-1 series cushion appeared first on IdealCapper.

And it allowed them to escape playoff elimination with a 105-103 win over the Thunder on Monday night.

Chandler Parsons scored 27 points and Patrick Beverley added 16 points with point guard Jeremy Lin out with a bruised chest muscle. Houston avoided a four-game sweep in the best-of-seven series.

The Rockets led in the fourth quarter of each of the previous two games only to end up losing.

“We felt the pain and frustration from the last two losses … and we didn’t want that to happen for the third straight time,” Parsons said.

It almost did.

Kevin Durant scored five quick points to cut the Rockets’ lead to two. James Harden missed two shots for Houston after that, and the Thunder had a last chance.

Reggie Jackson missed a jump shot, and Serge Ibaka grabbed the rebound but missed a layup at the buzzer.

A stunned Ibaka fell to the court after the miss and covered his face with his hands.

Durant scored 38 points in Oklahoma City’s second game without injured All-Star guard Russell Westbrook.

The victory kept Houston from being swept in the playoffs for the first time since 1996. Game 5 is Wednesday in Oklahoma City.

“Getting this first win gives us confidence going back to Oklahoma City, and anything can happen,” Harden said.

Rockets coach Kevin McHale was proud of his young team’s work in getting its first playoff victory.

“That was a gutsy win,” McHale said. “We’re not going to lie down. The one constant has been their willingness to scrap and fight. We kept on fighting.”

Durant hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in the Thunder’s Game 3 win. He wanted to get another one off Monday, but Francisco Garcia forced him to give up the ball.

“I was. I was going to try to win it,” Durant said. “But he played good defense.”

Durant is looking forward to the series returning to Oklahoma City.

“We’ll be all right,” he said. “We’re up 3-1 with a good opportunity to close it out at home. We couldn’t ask for a better situation, so hopefully we’ll get the job done.”

Harden scored 15 points but also had 10 turnovers. He had two chances to extend Houston’s lead with less than a minute left but missed both of them, including shooting an air ball.

Getting the win allowed Harden to take his tough night in stride.

“I did have a double-double,” he deadpanned, referring to his points and turnovers.

He picked up his fifth foul with about seven minutes remaining, sending him to the bench. A dunk by Jackson seconds later cut Houston’s lead to 98-94.

Jackson got the Thunder within 100-98 with a 3-pointer a couple of minutes later. His 3-point attempt on the next trip down the floor rattled in and out of the basket.

Houston scored four quick points to extend the lead to 104-98 before Harden returned to the game with about three minutes left.

He said he struggled to get going after sitting out in the fourth quarter.

“The foul trouble kind of set me back,” he said. “Coming in trying to make big shots, I was cold.”

Derek Fisher made a 3-pointer to cut Houston’s lead to 104-101 with less than three minutes remaining. It was reviewed a few seconds later, and the points were taken away because replays showed the shot clock had expired.

Jackson finished with 18 points in his second start in place of Westbrook, and Kevin Martin added 16.

Houston got 17 points from Omer Asik and 13 from Carlos Delfino.

Oklahoma City’s DeAndre Liggins received a technical foul with :07 left in the third quarter for arguing the call on a jump ball. Delfino made the free throw, but Durant hit a jump shot at the buzzer to get the Thunder within 91-84 entering the fourth quarter.

The Rockets led by two points in the third quarter before a 3-point play by Harden. He took Jackson off the dribble for a jump shot and drew the foul — Jackson’s fourth — to send him to the bench and the crowd into a frenzy.

Durant was shaken up a few seconds later when he crashed into the scorer’s table chasing a loose ball. He remained on his back for a couple of minutes holding his right wrist before being helped to his feet. But he didn’t leave the game and seemed to be OK.

Harden’s three-point play was the start of a 12-2 Houston run capped by another three-point play — this one by Delfino — to extend the lead to 85-75 with about three minutes left in the third quarter.

Delfino dunked after stealing the ball from Martin, and Durant fouled him on the play.

Houston scored the first 10 points of the second half to erase a halftime deficit and take a 63-60 lead. Parsons had six points in that span.

The Rockets did a much better job of keeping the crowd involved in this one than they did in Game 3, when they trailed early by as many as 26 points. Houston rallied to take a lead in the fourth quarter of that game before losing 104-101.

Near the end of the first half, Durant sailed into the crowd Superman-style to save the ball on a bad pass from Harden. He was able to get to his feet and stood in the crowd watching as Martin swished a 3 on the other end. He couldn’t figure out how to get out of the crowd for a few seconds before finally climbing out and back onto the court. But before he got back to the game, Durant asked a woman in the first row whom he had crashed into whether she was OK.

Houston led by five at the end of the first quarter and was up by three points early in the second before Oklahoma City scored 12 straight points, fueled by seven from Durant. The Rockets took a 43-34 lead about 6 1/2 minutes before halftime.

Delfino swiped the ball from Durant and swished a 3 with 17 seconds left in the first half to cut the Thunder’s lead to 60-53 at halftime.

The Rockets led 29-24 after one quarter thanks to 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range Monday after trailing by 20 points after one in Game 3.

Game notes

Houston’s Greg Smith returned Monday after missing Game 3 with a stomach ailment. … Durant has scored 20 or more points in 30 straight playoff games. … Former Rockets star Steve Francis watched the game from a courtside seat. … The Seattle SuperSonics were the last team to sweep Houston in the playoffs, getting a 4-0 series win in the Western Conference semifinals in 1996.

The post Rockets hold on vs. Thunder to avoid elimination appeared first on IdealCapper.

After examining information submitted by police, district attorney George Gascon said his office determined that no charges would be filed “at this time.”

“The San Francisco Police Department — Special Victims Unit completed and submitted a thorough investigation of the allegations against Michael Crabtree,” Gascon said.

Crabtree’s attorney, Joshua Bentley, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.

San Francisco police said Crabtree was never detained or arrested in the matter, and that he cooperated fully with their investigation.

The 49ers are preparing to meet the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 in New Orleans.

49ers general manager Trent Baalke said the team was pleased that the district attorney decided to not file charges after reviewing the matter.

“Michael and the team can now put this behind us and move forward,” Baalke said in a statement.

During the regular season, Crabtree became the first San Francisco wide receiver with more than 1,000 yards in a season since Terrell Owens in 2003.

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