Apr 29, 2007 10:09 PM EST
With Miami's Game 4 loss to Chicago, they became the first team in 50 years to be the NBA Champions one season, and then be swept in the opening round of the playoffs the next.
The 1957 Philadelphia Warriors were the last defending champion to be swept in a first-round playoff series, losing to the Syracuse Nationals. However, back then, the series was best-of-three, not the best-of-seven that it is today.
Chicago also became the first team to oust a defending champion in the first round since Phoenix did it to San Antonio in 2000.
Via RealGM
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The Bulls swept the defending NBA champion Heat out of the playoffs, winning a postseason series for the first time since the Michael Jordan era.
Ben Gordon scored 24 points, Luol Deng had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Chicago beat Miami 92-79 Sunday in Game 4 to finish off their first-round Eastern Conference series. The games biggest surprise, though, was Ben Wallace, who went 7-8 from the free throw line despite having the worst free throw shooting percentage in NBA history.
The Bulls, who will face Detroit in the second round, became the first team to oust a defending champion in the opening playoff series since Phoenix did it to San Antonio in 2000.
Via Yahoo!
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Heat coach Pat Riley stood in the center circle of his team's locker room Saturday morning, the space that features a rendering of the NBA championship trophy in the carpet, and challenged his players to join him for a sparring session.
''He came in the locker room [Saturday] jumping around, ready to spar,'' Dwyane Wade said of his 62-year-old coach. ``Nobody wanted to get in the circle with him to spar. He was in the middle. Udonis [Haslem] punked out, Dorell [Wright] punked out, [Gary Payton] punked out. They didn't want none. He's got the old man strength, too, so you can't let him grab you or it's over.''
Of course, Riley's message wasn't about fighting to the end. It was about fighting to avoid it.
Via Miami Herald
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Bulls Apr 2007 Archive
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Yahoo! | Apr 28, 2007
The Bulls are one win away from sending the Heat home for the summer.
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Yahoo! | Apr 25, 2007
Ben Gordon scored 27 points and Luol Deng added 26 to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 107-89 victory Tuesday night and a 2-0 lead over the defending champions in this first-round series.
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Press Release | Apr 23, 2007
Kirk Hinrich of the Chicago Bulls has been fined $25,000 for throwing his mouthpiece into the stands, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations.
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Chicago Tribune | Apr 23, 2007
But with another full day until Tuesday's Game 2, Luol Deng expects the Heat to make a defensive adjustment about as subtle as a James Posey forearm.
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Yahoo! | Apr 21, 2007
The Heat endured a difficult regular season.
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Associated Press | Apr 21, 2007
Heat guard Dwyane Wade is a Chicago guy, someone still in love with his hometown.
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Chicago Tribune | Apr 19, 2007
In an interview for a forthcoming book, Harold Katz, the former Sixers owner, revealed something that he offered Julius Erving, the Hall of Fame forward, to Chicago on the eve of the 1984 draft for the third overall pick, which the Bulls used to select Michael Jordan.
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ESPN | Apr 18, 2007
LeBron James will certainly be scoreboard watching in the season finale, doing all he can to help Cleveland win while pulling for New Jersey to keep alive Cleveland's shot at the No.
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New York Post | Apr 17, 2007
Eddy Curry is fuming at his former coach for demeaning his breakout season, calling Skiles "very disrespectful."
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Chicago Tribune | Apr 17, 2007
The Bulls have been dispatching opponents with such ease and efficiency that nobody is mentioning the 325-pound force sitting quietly in the corner.
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Press Release | Apr 16, 2007
The Chicago Bulls’ Ben Gordon and the Houston Rockets’ Tracy McGrady were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, April 9 through Sunday, April 15.
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Chicago Tribune | Apr 14, 2007
Several league sources said Ben Gordon is contemplating leaving longtime agent Billy Ceisler for David Falk.
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Press Release | Apr 13, 2007
The Chicago Bulls announced today that the entire roster has been named the CDW/Sony Notebooks MVP for the 2006-07 season.
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INS News | Apr 12, 2007
Bulls general manager John Paxson didn't attend Tuesday's game, but he supported his players and didn't think they were running up the score on the Knicks.
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Chicago Tribune | Apr 11, 2007
Steve Francis and Nate Robinson got in the faces of Bulls rookies Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefolosha as the final buzzer sounded.
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ESPN | Apr 8, 2007
Anthony Parker scored a career-high 27 points and Chris Bosh had 22 points and 11 rebounds, leading the Raptors to a 103-89 victory over the Bulls on Sunday night.
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ESPN | Apr 8, 2007
Former Chicago Bulls center Luc Longley and his family barely escaped a fire that destroyed their home and possibly some basketball memorabilia.
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Chicago Tribune | Apr 6, 2007
A 24-year-old man was arrested in Detroit for throwing an object at Bulls rookie Tyrus Thomas, bringing flashbacks to the brawl at this arena with the Pacers that started with an object thrown from the stands.
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ESPN | Apr 6, 2007
Antoine Walker and Shaquille O'Neal scored 20 points apiece and the Heat clinched a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs Thursday night, beating Cleveland 94-90 in overtime to drop the Cavaliers three places in the postseason seedings.
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ESPN | Apr 5, 2007
Kirk Hinrich scored 29 points, Luol Deng added 22 and the Ben Wallace-less Bulls beat the listless Pistons 106-88.
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Chicago Tribune | Apr 4, 2007
Bulls Forward Andres Nocioni, who has missed 27 of the team's last 28 games with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, believes he is ready to return.
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Chicago Tribune | Apr 3, 2007
Throughout his unexpected 14-year NBA career, P.
