NBA PLAYOFFS Bulls have defending champs on ropes

Chicago has a 3-0 advantage on Miami with a 104-96 victory.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI -- Chicago is one win away from sending the defending NBA champions home for the summer -- in stunning style.
Ben Gordon scored 27 points, Luol Deng added 24 points and 11 rebounds and the Bulls used a 15-2 fourth-quarter run to seize control of a 104-96 victory in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Friday night.
Chicago leads the series 3-0 -- a cushion no team has ever wasted in NBA history -- and will go for the sweep in Miami on Sunday afternoon.
The Heat trailed by nine points with 2:33 left and got within 99-96 on a jumper by Dwyane Wade with 1:25 left, but got no closer.
They led by 12 points in the third quarter, but misfired on 19 of their 35 free-throw attempts and were outscored 32-17 over the final 111/2 minutes.
Struggled at foul line
Wade -- who shed the black sleeve he was using to keep his left shoulder, the one he dislocated in February, warm -- scored 28 points and Shaquille O'Neal added 23 points and 13 rebounds for Miami.
But Wade was 4-for-10 from the foul line, O'Neal 3-for-12, and the rest of the Heat weren't much better.
Meanwhile, Chicago outrebounded Miami by a wide margin (44-33) for the third straight game, plus made 29 of 37 free throws.
Kirk Hinrich added 22 points for Chicago.
Antoine Walker had 12 points and James Posey scored 10 for Miami.
Nets 102, Raptors 89
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Jason Kidd's knee looked fine. Same with Vince Carter's shot.
In fact, it was hard to find anything wrong with the New Jersey Nets on Friday night.
Kidd had a playoff career-high 19 assists in his 10th postseason triple-double, Carter scored 37 points, and the Nets beat the Toronto Raptors 102-89 to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
One day after missing practice because of a bruised left knee, Kidd was back in the starting lineup and added 16 points and 16 rebounds.
He had 14 assists by halftime and easily passed his previous best of 16, set when he was playing for Phoenix. He also had the previous New Jersey record of 15.
Kidd snapped a tie with Wilt Chamberlain and moved into one with Larry Bird for second on the career postseason triple-doubles list. He is still 20 behind Magic Johnson, the career leader.
The Nets, who never trailed and led by as many as 21 points, host Game 4 on Sunday night.
T.J. Ford scored 27 points for the Raptors, who haven't won a postseason road game since beating Philadelphia on May 6, 2001, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
All-Star forward Chris Bosh was limited to 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting.
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