By ANDREW SELIGMAN
AP Sports Writer
CHICAGO — C.J. Watson scored 16 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation, and the Chicago Bulls pulled away in overtime to beat the Miami Heat 96-86 on Thursday night.
Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with 19 points and Kyle Korver added 17 points for the Bulls, who outscored Miami 12-2 in overtime to boost their lead in the Eastern Conference to four games.
The Bulls were able to pull off the victory despite a horrible shooting night by Derrick Rose.
LeBron James scored 30 points for Miami, but missed a free throw that would have made it a two-possession game late in regulation. Dwyane Wade added 21 points, Chris Bosh scored 20, but the Heat lost for the sixth time in 11 games.
Things were looking good for Miami when James nailed a 3 that made it 83-81 with 49 seconds left in regulation. But with a chance to seal the game, he missed the first of two free throws with 11.4 seconds remaining.
That kept the Bulls in it and Watson made a 3 to tie it at 84 with 2.2 seconds left. The game went into overtime when Wade missed a baseline jumper at the buzzer.
Deng started the extra period with a jumper. Taj Gibson dunked on Ronny Turiaf for a three-point play and scored on a neat spin move after Wade hit a free throw, making it 91-85, sending the Bulls to a dramatic win on a night when their superstar had perhaps his worst game as a pro.
Rose scored just two points and hit 1 of 13 shots, a brutal night for the reigning MVP. Then again, he hasn’t played much lately.
He returned from a 12-game absence due to a groin injury for Sunday’s overtime loss at New York, only to sprain his right ankle. He did not play Tuesday, when the Bulls beat the Knicks at home.
But even with Rose struggling, the Bulls managed to pull this one out.
SPURS 107, GRIZZLIES 97
SAN ANTONIO — Tim Duncan had 28 points and 12 rebounds and the Spurs snapped out of a funk to top the surging Grizzlies.
Manu Ginobili added 20 points and Tony Parker scored 13, redeeming themselves a night after being humiliated by the Kobe Bryant-less Los Angeles Lakers. The Spurs narrowly escaped their first three-game slide this season.
Rudy Gay led Memphis with 19 points. The Grizzlies had their four-game winning streak halted after their rally from a late 14-point deficit fizzled in the final minutes.
Memphis fell 1½ games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 4 playoff seed. It was only the third loss in 12 games for the Grizzlies since the return of Zach Randolph.
CLIPPERS 95, T-WOLVES 82
MINNEAPOLIS — Blake Griffin had 19 points and 13 rebounds and Caron Butler scored 17 points to lead the Clippers to a victory over the Timberwolves.
Mo Williams had 14 points and five assists in his return for the Clippers, who are a game behind the Lakers for the third seed in the West and 1½ game ahead of Memphis for the fourth seed.
Michael Beasley had 14 points and 10 rebounds and J.J. Barea had 10 points and 11 assists for the Timberwolves, who have lost eight straight games. They’ve lost 24 in a row in the month of April dating back to 2009.
The Wolves were playing without All-Star Kevin Love, who missed the game with a mild concussion.
PISTONS 109, BOBCATS 85
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Greg Monroe had 25 points and 11 rebounds to help the Pistons salvage a four-game road trip with a rout of the woeful Bobcats.
Brandon Knight added 21 points and seven assists while Jason Maxiell was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and finished with 17 points.
Monroe was 11-for-14 from the field.
The Pistons had won six of seven games before embarking on a road trip that included losses to Atlanta, Miami and Orlando, the final two by a combined margin of 53 points.
But they had no such problems with Bobcats, who became the first team this season to lose 50 games.
Detroit shot 61 percent from the field over the first three quarters and led by as many as 36.
