Bulls give Heat reason to cry

At the time, the crying and hugging seemed absurd. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade locked up in a tearful embrace as if they had been separated at birth and surprisingly reunited decades later by Oprah.

All they did was lead the Miami Heat past the crippled Boston Celtics in the second round. Who knew reaching the midpoint in the NBA playoffs was cause for celebratory sobbing?

The consequences for the Heat were a hangover. But this was not a comedy about guys awaking in Las Vegas after a wild bachelor party. It was about a superstar-studded team favored to win the Eastern Conference getting hammered in Chicago.

Derrick Rose scored 28 points — only five fewer than James and Wade combined — as the Bulls put a second-half beatdown on the Heat and won Game 1 of the East finals 103-82 on Sunday night.

“The Bulls got every loose ball and every offensive rebound. I thought the Heat played lazy, and Wade looked tired,” M Resort sports book director Mike Colbert said.

Four days after their crying game, the Heat looked prepared for a pillow fight. But the Bulls defended and rebounded with more toughness, Rose ran wild and Tom Thibodeau showed he definitely has the coaching edge in the series.

Miami was a minus-180 series favorite despite Chicago owning home-court advantage. Most bettors sided with the Bulls in the series and as 2-point favorites in the opener.

“We took a bunch of Bulls money late, so we lost on the game,” Colbert said. “We’re definitely heavy on the Bulls, and some of the biggest bets are on the Bulls, so we need the Heat for the series for sure.

“There’s definitely a lot of interest in the series price. It’s the most bet series price of the whole playoffs. I just think a lot of people don’t like the Heat for whatever reason.”

Charles Barkley nailed predictions on two major series upsets — Memphis over San Antonio and Dallas over the Los Angeles Lakers — and he also called for Chicago over Miami.

Colbert’s call was for the Heat in six games. After the Game 1 blowout, he received text messages from people predicting a Bulls sweep.

“I can picture all the talk shows (today) about how bad the Heat are and the series is over. I couldn’t disagree more,” Colbert said. “People really do overreact. I think we’re in for a seven-game series.

“I really don’t believe the Bulls can win one in Miami, and it’s going to come down to if the Heat can steal one in Chicago.”

Colbert, who also oversees the Cantor Gaming books at Cosmopolitan, Hard Rock and Tropicana, is putting up several propositions on every NBA playoff game. James and Wade, each posted at 25½ for total points scored, fell far short of expectations Sunday.

Chris Bosh, ridiculed as the Heat’s third superfraud, came up big to score 30 points and almost double his prop total of 15½.

Rose, who barely topped his scoring prop of 26½ at Cantor’s books and 27½ at the Las Vegas Hilton, got a lift from Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Chicago’s usually shaky supporting cast. In order for the Heat to win, they must defend Rose more effectively.

“It’s a real tough matchup for Rose because Miami has got a bunch of athletic guys who can guard him,” Colbert said. “I think Rose will struggle. I would bet him under in points because I think he’ll average about 20 a game.”

This was supposed to be a defensively dominated series, but the Heat fell asleep in the opener and it went over the total of 181.

In Game 7 of a West semifinal Sunday, Oklahoma City was a 7-point favorite in a 105-90 victory over Memphis. There was little doubt the Thunder would win, but a late scoring flurry and 65 points in the fourth stunningly pushed it over a total ranging from 192 to 194.

“That’s one of the worst beats I’ve ever seen if you had it under,” Colbert said. “It was ridiculous. The game was a dead under.”

Kevin Durant, who erupted for 39 points Sunday, and the Thunder could be live ‘dogs in the West finals against Dallas, which opened as about a minus-190 series favorite. “No way I could lay (2-to-1) against this Oklahoma City team,” Colbert said.

For several months, Colbert has had a prop posted on whether the Heat will win the East.

“People bet ‘No’ all year,” he said, adding that the Big Three’s bravado and fireworks party last summer “rubbed people the wrong way.”

The Heat are headed the wrong direction. But, again, it’s only one game. Expect James and Wade to come back fighting, not crying.

Contact sports betting columnist Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. He co-hosts the “Las Vegas Sportsline” weeknights at midnight on KDWN-AM (720) and thelasvegassportsline.com.