CHICAGO (AP) — Derrick
Rose heard the ``MVP! MVP!'' chants and thought he would faint, the loud
chorus rattling the All-Star point guard.
Funny thing, though.
Being guarded by LeBron James late in the game didn't faze him. And now, the Cleveland Cavaliers can forget about sweeping the Bulls out of the playoffs.
Rose scored 31 points, Kirk Hinrich added 27 and Chicago hung to beat the top-seeded Cavaliers 108-106 Thursday night in Game 3 of a first-round series after its 21-point lead dwindled to one.
``We stayed strong,'' said Chicago's Joakim Noah, who fought through foul trouble to finish with 15 rebounds. ``D-Rose played huge for us. It just feels really good to come out with a win right now.''
James scored 13 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter but also committed some turnovers down the stretch. Even so, the Cavaliers were within 107-106 after Mo Williams nailed a 3-pointer with 3.8 seconds left. They immediately fouled Luol Deng, who hit the first free throw but missed the second.
Cleveland's Anthony Parker got the rebound and raced up the right side but missed a 3 at the buzzer, and the Bulls escaped with the win despite some shaky foul shooting late in the game.
They will try to tie the best-of-seven series on Sunday.
Hinrich, a career 80.9 percent foul shooter, missed two with 26 seconds left and the Bulls up 104-99.
James then buried a 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining to make it a two-point game. The Cavaliers immediately fouled Rose, who missed the first free throw before converting the second to make it 105-102 with 10.1 seconds left.
Chicago fouled Anderson Varejao to prevent a 3-point attempt, and he made the first but missed the second. Brad Miller got the rebound and converted both foul shots to make it a four-point game, and the Bulls hung on for a wild win.
