LEAD: Rose fails to deliver late, Heat holds off Bulls, 97-93

By Paul Levine Jan 30, 2012, 5:10 GMT

Los Angeles - Derrick Rose played like the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, until the very end.

LeBron James had 35 points with 11 rebounds while Chris Bosh added 24 with 12 boards and the Miami Heat held off the charging Chicago Bulls 97-93 on Sunday, in a battle of Eastern Conference leaders.

'We knew it was going to be tough,' said James, whose club beat the Bulls in five grueling games in last season's Eastern Conference finals. 'It's two teams that have the same aspirations, and that's winning the NBA Championship. It went down to the wire and it was fun.'

Rose scored a season-high 34 points but missed the go-ahead free throws and the game-tying basket in the final half minute for the Bulls (17-5), who played without starting forward Luol Deng, sidelined with wrist injury.

'It's so unreal,' Rose said. 'I had a chance to change the game but this time it didn't work out. This is going to make me a stronger player.'

In an early season clash, the Bulls and Heat engaged in another intense struggle, with the final minute offering some rare moments.

'For a regular-season game,' Heat forward Shane Battier said, 'that's probably as intense as you'll find.'

After trailing by eight with two and half minutes left, Rose's three-point play pulled the Bulls to within 94-93 with 49 seconds left.

Rose had a chance to give the Bulls their first lead of the game after James missed badly on a jumper. A perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line up until then, Rose, however, missed the pair with 22.7 seconds remaining.

'It was definitely tough,' Rose said of the free throws. 'I've been in those situations before and knocked them down. But to miss both, I let my team down.'

Fouled after grabbing the rebound, James missed both of his from the stripe with 17.6 seconds to play. Miami's Dwyane Wade sneaked in for the rebound and apparently had possession of the ball. But an inadvertent whistle was blown, leading to a jump ball.

James controlled the tip over Taj Gibson and tapped the ball to Mario Chambers, who made the first of two free throws with 13.6 seconds, giving the Heat a 95-93 edge.

With 9.9 seconds left, the Bulls put the ball in Rose's hands following a timeout. The speedy guard sliced through two defenders, but his potential game-tying floater in the lane bounced off the front of the rim. Bosh grabbed the rebound, made two free throws and the Heat escaped with its fourth straight victory.

'Every time we play the Bulls it's going to be like that,' Bosh said. 'It's going to be a drag-out fight every game.'

Elsewhere: LA Lakers 106, Minnesota Timberwolves 101: Kobe Bryant had 35 points with 14 rebounds, Spaniard Pau Gasol scored 28 points and the visiting regrouped after blowing an 18-point cushion to beat the Timberwolves for the 16th consecutive time despite Kevin Love's 33-point, 13-rebound effort.

LA Clippers 109, Denver Nuggets 105: Chauncey Billups scored a season-high 32 points, Chris Paul had 25 and the visiting Clippers rallied in the final quarter to snap the Nuggets' six-game winning streak.

Cleveland Cavaliers 88, Boston Celtics 87: Rookie Kyrie Irving scored 23 points, including the game-winning layup with 2.6 seconds left, to cap a 12-0 closing run and the visiting Cavaliers snapped the Celtics' four-game winning streak.

Ray Allen led the Celtics with 22 points after missing three games with a jammed left ankle.

Indiana Pacers 106, Orlando Magic 85: Danny Granger tossed in 24 points and visiting Pacers outscored the Magic 58-34 in the second half, to hand Orlando its season-high third straight loss despite 24 points and 13 rebounds by Dwight Howard.

Dallas Mavericks 101, San Antonio Spurs 100 (OT): Jason Terry fired in a season-high 34 points, including the go-ahead jumper and two free throws in the final 42 seconds of overtime and the Mavericks edged the visiting Spurs after blowing an 18-point lead.

German juggernaut Dirk Nowitzki contributed 10 points and 13 rebounds for the reigning NBA Champ Mavs, after sitting out the last three games with a sore right knee.

Atlanta Hawks 94, New Orleans Hornets 72: Jeff Teague matched a career-high with 24 points, and the visiting Hawks handed the Hornets their worst loss of the season and 16th in the last 18 games.

Toronto Raptors 94, New Jersey Nets 73: DeMar DeRozan scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half, and the visiting Raptors routed the Nets.