Miami Heat's Norris Cole (centre) moves between Chicago Bulls Joakim Noah (left) and Carlos Boozer (right) in the first half of their NBA basketball game in Miami, Florida.
The Chicago Bulls continued their rapid ascent through the Eastern Conference by defeating the injury-depleted Washington Wizards 87-80 on Wednesday for their ninth victory in their last 10 games.
The Chicago Bulls continue to thrive in the absence of league MVP Derrick Rose and cemented their place at the top of the Eastern Conference with a suffocating 85-59 road win over the Orlando Magic on Monday.
Chris Bosh scored 34 points and LeBron James added 22 as Miami Heat beat Chicago Bulls 96-85 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday night. Miami now leads 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Derrick Rose took over scoring duties late in the game to ensure the surging Chicago Bulls held off the New York Knicks to record a 105-102 victory at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
The Miami Heat got their NBA championship rings, watched a video tribute to last season's record-setting campaign and then went out and showed why they are still the team to beat.