Miami rally over Bulls to reach finals

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade sparked a fourth-quarter rally as Miami Heat came from behind to beat Chicago Bulls 83-80 late Thursday to set up a re-match of their 2006 finals against Dallas Mavericks.

James scored 28 points and Wade had 21 for Miami who went on an 18-3 run late in the game to beat the Bulls in five games in their best-of-seven NBA semi-finals series.

“We did it with defence,” James said.

“We did it by staying together. We have been in these situations before and knew we just had to buckle down.”

The Heat are headed to the finals for the first time since 2006, when they beat the Mavericks in six games thanks to superb offensive performances by Wade and Shaquille O’Neal. James and Chris Bosh will be going for their first NBA championship.

Game one is set for Tuesday in Miami.

The Mavericks advanced by eliminating Oklahoma City in five games on Wednesday.

Wade and James were brilliant for the Heat, who erased a 12-point deficit with just a little over three minutes left in the game. With 29 seconds left, Wade hit the go-ahead jump shot.