Column: Short-handed Bulls were most heartwarming tale of NBA postseason, but it's over.

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  Chicago Bulls bench watch during the second half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball playoffs Eastern Conference semifinal against the Miami Heat on Monday, May 13, 2013, in Chicago. The Heat won 88-65. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)The Associated Press

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  Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) reacts during the second half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball playoffs Eastern Conference semifinal against the Chicago Bulls on Monday, May 13, 2013, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)The Associated Press

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  Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer talks to an official during the second half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball playoffs Eastern Conference semifinal against the Miami Heat on Monday, May 13, 2013, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)The Associated Press

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CHICAGO –  The little engine that could finally threw a gear.

The Chicago Bulls might have been the most heartwarming tale going this postseason, but it's over. Unlike the bedtime story, fumes and spare parts get you only so far in the NBA. It was always a matter of when — not if — they'd fall apart.

Go back and take a look at what happened in the third quarter of their Eastern Conference semifinal Monday night against the Miami Heat, or better yet, don't. It was about as ugly as you'd imagine. The Bulls scored exactly nine points in the period, an all-time franchise low.

At various times in the final quarter, Chicago had Nazr Mohammed, Daequan Cook, Malcolm Thomas, Marquis Teague and 35-year-old Rip Hamilton on the floor. What's scary isn't that some NBA fans had no idea that any or all of that group was in the league; rather, it's that many of those same fans wouldn't recognize the guys they were supposed to be spelling.

The Bulls wound up shooting 26 percent and totaled just 65 points by the end of Game 4, another team record for futility. Yet they probably had no business getting that many, let alone this far in the playoffs.

"We're kind of putting screws and bandages everywhere," said forward Taj Gibson, another backup pressed into regular service. "It's frustrating. Every night and every day.

"It's rough. It's really rough," he added a moment later. "I wish I could explain how I'm feeling right now. How everybody in this locker room is feeling now."

Actually, there's no need for a lengthy explanation when a glance will do. Gibson had icepacks covering both knees as he talked. Across the room, Joakim Noah had his right foot (plantar fasciitis) submerged in a bucket of ice. Next to him, Nate Robinson had an icepack covering his left shoulder. The players who hadn't left in a hurry to lick their wounds at home were still lined up in the trainer's room, awaiting their turns.

Every team has to cope with injuries, but what happened to the Bulls and coach Tom Thibodeau this season gives the phrase new meaning. His best player, Derrick Rose, the league's MVP in 2011, was a scratch at the start because of knee surgery, and despite a doctor's note clearing him to return in March, he never did. Somehow, the Bulls won 45 regular-season games, then even more surprising, beat back Brooklyn in the first round.

Naturally, things only got worse. Chicago's second-best offensive player, Luol Deng, who played all season with a variety of hurts, has missed the last six playoff games; the Bulls' best perimeter defender, Kirk Heinrich, similarly battling injuries for months, has been out for the last seven.

Now the Bulls head to Miami down 3-1, where this series will end — officially, but mercifully, too.

"They're in a tough situation," LeBron James said — not that it stopped him from dropping 27 points on Chicago's wearied defenders. "They've had some injuries and illnesses and whatever's going on. They don't have their full roster, but that's not for us to worry about."

That was Thibodeau's worry all season, and the jury could be out for a while deciding whether he treated the players available at any given moment like a chess master or a meat grinder. The team's unofficial motto became "Next Man Up!" — the Bulls left a placard with the slogan on every seat in the arena Monday night — but "Next Man Down!' might turn out to be more accurate in the long run.

Thibodeau possesses one of the league's best defensive minds, and the effort he coaxed, mostly from a bench long on second-stringers, was something to behold. In what might have been his final motivational ploy for this season, Thibodeau put out a revised lineup just moments before Game 4 with Deng listed as "active," even though he wasn't long out of a hospital bed. The coach also reached deep into his doghouse and finally tossed a few minutes to Hamilton, who like Robinson, shoots the ball without conscience and is a defensive liability.

Neither is Thibodeau's kind of player. Whether the pair returns remains to be seen, though you could say the same about a few more of the youngsters and castoffs the coach used to great effect. The more important question is whether the front-liners — Rose, Deng, Heinrich and Noah, who's played relentlessly despite the foot injury — will continue to entrust their careers to a coach who won't, or can't, ever take his foot off the throttle.

Afterward, Thibodeau was asked whether the Bulls' performance was proof they'd simply "run out of steam."

"No," he replied. "I think the thing is they're (Heat) a great team. We have to come out with great intensity — but we also have to make shots."

The Bulls never really had enough guys who could do that — shoot — to seriously contend. They came back down 3-1 against the Nets and stole the first game of this series with toughness and intensity, but they're short on those qualities now, and exhausted to boot.

"There's a lot left in the tank," Robinson said bravely. "Down 3-1, you never know. Take it to Game 7 and we end up winning, it's going to be a beautiful story to tell my kids one day."

Or not.

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Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org

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Boozer, Bulls hold off Nets

Chicago, IL –  Carlos Boozer had a monster double-double and behind a dominating defensive performance, the Chicago Bulls grinded out a 79-76 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

After stealing home-court advantage from the Nets with a victory in Game 2, the Bulls returned home and held Brooklyn to under 20 points in each of the first three quarters.

The Nets were brutal from the field for the second straight game, shooting just 34.6 percent, but had a chance after reducing a 17-point fourth quarter deficit down to three with four seconds left.

C.J. Watson, though, shot long on a potential game-tying 3-pointer from the corner, securing the win for Chicago.

Boozer carried the Bulls with 22 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, while Luol Deng also chipped with a double-double of 21 points and 10 boards.

Brook Lopez helped spark the comeback attempt and supplied Brooklyn with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots.

Deron Williams had 18 points albeit another shaky shooting performance and Joe Johnson, who was a game-time decision with plantar fasciitis in his foot, scored 15 points in nearly 41 minutes of play.

The series will resume on Saturday afternoon in Chicago for Game 4.

It was looking like the Bulls would cruise to their second straight win in the series after building a 73-56 advantage on Taj Gibson's short jumper with 8:35 to play, but Lopez powered the Nets back into the contest.

He knocked down a hook shot to begin a 16-4 push, which he supplied 10 points to and brought Brooklyn within three, 77-74, on his putback dunk off a Johnson missed 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining.

Nate Robinson split a pair from the line to push the margin back up to four, but Williams answered with a runner in the lane to make it a two-point game with five seconds left.

Chicago's Joakim Noah, who also is fighting plantar fasciitis in his foot, missed the first free throw attempt, but scored his only point of the game on the ensuing free throw.

Brooklyn called timeout and inbounded to Johnson, who drew a double-team. He swung to guard MarShon Brooks and he found an open Watson in the corner, but his attempt overshot the basket.

The Nets seemed eager to put their Game 2 loss behind them in the first, and sprinted out to a 17-5 lead, with Williams knocking down a 3-pointer and five free throws during the early push.

The Bulls, though, began to tighten up defensively and over the last six minutes of the frame, didn't give up a single point. Kirk Hinrich put the Bulls in front with a pair of free throws and then Deng split a pair at the line to send Chicago into the second with a 19-17 edge.

Brooklyn, ice cold from the field, missed 13 straight shots at one point and went 4-for-30 after taking the 12-point lead in the first. Meanwhile, the Bulls pushed their lead to 12 on Boozer's jumper and carried a 41-34 edge into intermission.

Deng went on a tear to start the third, making five baskets in the first four minutes of the frame to build the Bulls' lead to 15. He followed a 3-pointer with a three-point play and Chicago led by double-digits until Brooklyn's fourth quarter run.

Game Notes

Williams was 5-for-14 from the field, following a 1-for-9 performance in Game 2 ... Brooklyn has dropped 11 of their last 13 games in Chicago ... Hinrich scored 12 points for the Bulls ... Chicago outrebounded the Brooklyn by a 48-42 count.

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Red Bulls try to end Toyota Park slump against Fire

Bridgeview, IL –  The Chicago Fire will try to extend a run of success against Red Bull New York at Toyota Park on Sunday, and in the process, claim its first victory of the season.

The Fire has gotten off to a poor start so far, earning just one point from four games and being outscored 9-1.

Chicago didn't score its first goal of the campaign until a 4-1 defeat against Chivas USA in its fourth match of the year, snapping a 334-minute goalless drought.

But despite its early-season futility, the Fire will be hoping that a visit from New York will help the club get on track and into the win column for the first time this season.

In nine all-time meetings between the two sides at Toyota Park, Chicago is 6-0-3 against the Red Bulls, a streak that head coach Frank Klopas hopes will continue.

In 2011, Klopas moved from the front office to the sideline after previous head coach Carlos de los Cobos won just one of his first 11 games that season.

Klopas managed to turn things around that year and the Fire fell just short of reaching the playoffs, giving Chicago president Javier Leon plenty of confidence in his coach.

"I strongly believe in having a coach -- and I think the ownership feels that way too -- that has so much invested in the city," Leon said. "Believe me, nobody feels worse than Frank in terms of the results thus far. He has so much invested in the city, and he has so much invested in the team, being part of the team, having the history that he had. From that standpoint, clearly he's focused on making the right adjustments in order to get us on the right path."

Mike Petke had to wait until his fifth game to claim his first win as New York head coach, a 2-1 home victory against the Philadelphia Union last weekend.

Thierry Henry scored the winning goal in the 81st minute, and Petke felt that the win has been coming for the past few weeks.

"This was three weeks in the making," Petke said. "They earned it. They earned it through their play the last couple of weeks, they earned it through their play Saturday and it's just something to build on."

Petke will be hoping to continue that success against a struggling Fire team, but he is also wary of Chicago's slow start.

"I think they're a sleeping giant in a way," Petke said of Chicago. "It's a very dangerous team to play. A team with quality, a team that has not gotten the results that perhaps they deserved at times. They're a very dangerous team and we're not taking them lightly at all."

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Nuggets defeat Bulls in controversial OT thriller

Chicago, IL –  Andre Iguodala's 3-pointer and Joakim Noah's offensive goaltending in the final 7.1 seconds of overtime kept the Nuggets' winning streak alive, as Denver escaped United Center with a controversial 119-118 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

After Iguodala's go-ahead make, Marco Belinelli drove the left side and threw up a jumper that appeared to be short. Noah swooped in and got a hand on the ball as it was coming down and celebrated with his teammates as the ball went through with 1.7 seconds showing.

But the excitement was short-lived, as officials overruled the bucket with the aid of instant replay, saying Noah touched the ball as it was in the cylinder to give the Nuggets their 12th consecutive victory.

"From my angle it look like a good play, it looked like it was short," said Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, whose club has lost three of their last four. "I guess we have to call the league to get an interpretation."

Wilson Chandler scored 35 points for Denver, while Nate Robinson paced the Bulls with 34.

The goaltending call overshadowed a great game from Noah, who totaled 14 points, 12 rebounds, seven blocks and six assists and gave the Bulls a 117-116 lead with 32.8 seconds to go in overtime with a tip-in.

Noah blocked a Chandler shot in the lane on the ensuing possession, and Robinson went 1-of-2 at the foul line with 18.4 seconds to go.

Following a timeout, Andre Miller drew two defenders in the post and kicked it back to an open Iguodala for what turned out to be his 13th assist. Iguodala was 2-of-13 from the field prior to providing the fifth and final lead change of the extra session with a 3-pointer.

"Nine (wins) in a row in January and now with 12. We know we can win and play anyone," Denver head coach George Karl said.

The Bulls trailed 79-73 entering the fourth and were down by nine with 4 1/2 minutes to play, but pulled within a point, 103-102, on Belinelli's deep jumper with 1:03 remaining in regulation.

Miller drove inside for a tough bucket, but was whistled for a questionable traveling violation the next time down, giving the ball back to the Bulls with 17.7 seconds to play.

Robinson answered with a game-tying 3-pointer, and Ty Lawson airballed a 22- footer to send the game to an extra five minutes.

The Nuggets opened the second quarter on a 15-4 run and never trailed until the opening possession of overtime. Corey Brewer ended the spurt with a 3- pointer for a 36-24 cushion, and it was a 53-45 game at halftime.

Game Notes

Both teams had six players score in double figures ... Iguodala finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds ... Luol Deng scored 21 points for Chicago, which had eight fastbreak points to Denver's 30 ... The Nuggets have won four straight over the Bulls.

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West, Pacers down Bulls

Indianapolis, IN –  David West had 31 points and seven rebounds in the Indiana Pacers' 97-92 win over the Chicago Bulls.

George Hill added 21 points, six boards and five assists for the Pacers, who have won seven of their last eight games.

Indiana swept the season series against Chicago for the first time since 2004, when the Pacers last won the Central Division.

Marco Bellinelli and Jimmy Butler netted 20 points apiece for Chicago, which had its brief two-game winning streak snapped. Joakim Noah added 14 points, 10 boards and five helpers in defeat.

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Waiters scores 25 as Cavaliers stop 11-game slide against Bulls with 101-98 victory

CHICAGO –  Dion Waiters scored on jumpers, turnarounds and an assortment of moves in the lane. Shaun Livingston made a couple of a big plays in a rare start, and Wayne Ellington provided some scoring punch when the reserves were in the game.

Even without Kyrie Irving, the improving Cleveland Cavaliers had too much talent for the banged-up Chicago Bulls.

Waiters scored 25 points, Livingston added 15 in the same state where he starred in high school and the Cavs held on for a 101-98 victory on Tuesday night that snapped an 11-game losing streak against the Bulls.

"Without Kyrie, we knew it was going to be tough, period," Cleveland coach Byron Scott said. "But I thought guys stepped up big time."

While Irving rested a sore right knee in street clothes on the sideline, Waiters converted a fadeaway jumper and a layup before Tyler Zeller drove along the baseline for a layup that helped Cleveland open an 87-78 lead with 7:33 left in the game.

The Bulls were down two when they got the ball back with 37.8 seconds left, but Luol Deng missed a long jumper and Livingston hit two free throws to make it 100-96. Luke Walton then forced a turnover to get the ball back for the Cavs.

Ellington finished with 13 points as Cleveland held on for its third win in the last four games, bouncing back from a difficult 109-105 loss at Miami on Sunday.

"We've been playing some very solid basketball last month, month-and-a-half," Walton said. "We still struggle down the stretch once in a while, here and there. But we're grinding and we're learning and we're definitely a much better team right now than we were at the beginning of the season."

Carlos Boozer scored 27 points and Deng had 26 for Chicago, which has dropped five of seven. Kirk Hinrich returned to the lineup after missing three consecutive games with a lingering right elbow issue and finished with 11 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.

"Until we get the level of intensity up and play with high energy on both ends of the floor, play for 48 minutes, the results are not going to be good," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "You get what you deserve in this league and we're getting what we deserve right now, so until we change that we're going to have problems."

The Bulls played their first game of the season without reserve forward Taj Gibson, who sprained his left knee when he stepped on the foot of Oklahoma City guard Reggie Jackson in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 102-72 loss to the Thunder. Gibson is expected to miss at least two weeks in another devastating injury for Chicago.

Derrick Rose has missed the entire season while he recovers from major left knee surgery, and Hinrich also has missed a bunch of games due to a myriad of injuries.

"We have to find a way," said Bulls center Joakim Noah, who has been playing with a right foot injury. "We have to play with more urgency and play together. I think that is disappointing right now. It's been a long stretch where we haven't been playing great basketball."

Alonzo Gee finished with 11 points for the Cavaliers, who open a five-game homestand against Toronto on Wednesday. Tristan Thompson added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Chicago and Cleveland handed the lead back and forth for much of the third quarter. Three consecutive charging calls on the Bulls helped the Cavaliers open a 72-67 advantage on Walton's long jumper with two minutes left in the period, but Noah found Deng inside to help Chicago get within one.

The Bulls had a chance to go in front in the final seconds of the third, but Marco Belinelli's 3-point attempt was blocked by Livingston, and Ellington hit a 3 as time expired to lift Cleveland to a 75-71 lead.

Waiters was 10 for 16 from the field and is averaging 19.8 points in his last five games. The rookie, who was the No. 4 overall pick in last year's draft, had 26 points in the loss to Miami.

"Just being patient, letting the game come to me, and just taking what the defense gives me," Waiters said. "That's what I'm trying to do is just be aggressive, looking to attack, keep the defense on their heels."

NOTES: Rose and Irving have never faced each other in an NBA game. "Well, I think we're all looking forward to that," Scott said. "My greatest hope is that No. 1 that Derrick Rose comes back and he's back to being the old Derrick Rose. If that happens and they get a chance to go against each other, I think that would be very interesting." ... Livingston played his prep ball at Peoria Central H.S. ... Chicago's 115-86 win at Cleveland on Nov. 2 is the worst loss of the season for the Cavaliers.

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Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap

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