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Thibodeau lauds Rose's courage

There has been plenty of second-guessing about the final play of regulation time in Game 4.

The Bulls had the ball with eight seconds on the clock and the score tied. Derrick Rose went 1-on-1 against defender LeBron James and came up short on a 20-foot step-back jumper.

Should the Bulls have set a screen? Asked Rose to drive to the basket? Gone to someone else, like maybe Luol Deng, who was guarded by the smaller Dwyane Wade? It hardly matters now, but the situation could recur Thursday.

“We wanted the last shot. That's his shot,” coach Tom Thibodeau said Wednesday at the Berto Center. “If he sees an opening where he can drive, we want him to drive. If he wants to pull up, he's made that shot all year for us.

“If it goes in, we're all praising him. If it doesn't go in, then everyone wants to criticize him. One game he's shooting too much. The next game he's not shooting enough. That goes with the territory.

“The thing I love about him is he's got the courage to take and he's got the ability to make. I trust him. There is no one out there I'd rather have than him.”

Deng agreed with his coach.

“I don't believe anyone can guard Derrick 1-on-1,” Deng said. “Every time we're in that position, we're going to give him the ball.”

Something flagrant:Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau shared his opinion of the flagrant foul called on Carlos Boozer with 4:40 left in the fourth quarter of Game 4. It was a pivotal play, since it gave the Heat a 4-point possession and erased a Bulls' 3-point lead.#8220;I thought it was a good, hard playoff foul,#8221; Thibodeau said. #8220;I don't know. I'm probably the wrong guy to ask about those things. Sometimes what I think is a flagrant foul, they don't think and vice versa. That's the way it went. Not a big deal. We move on.#8221;Replays showed Boozer did make a play on the ball as Miami's Chris Bosh drove through the lane, but also hit Bosh with a forearm. Bosh fell backward as if struck by a cannonball.It's easy to see why the Bulls would disagree with the call, based on all the hard fouls they endured in the Indiana series, not to mention Rajon Rondo's smack in the face against Brad Miller in the 2009 Bulls-Celtics series, which was not ruled flagrant.Miller turns it around:Mike Miller was a Miami hero in Game 4. In six previous games between the Bulls and Heat this season, he scored a combined 11 points and hit 4 of 15 shots. On Tuesday, he scored 12 points and hit 5 of 8 shots.Miller has plenty on his mind right now. His week-old daughter, Jaelyn, is in an intensive care unit and may need surgery. He's been wearing pink shoelaces to honor his daughter.Wade awaits Game 5:Miami star Dwyane Wade scored 8 points and hit 3 of 12 shots during regulation time in Game 4. He recovered to add 6 points in the overtime session. On Wednesday in Florida, he looked forward to the next game in Chicago.#8220;It's an opportunity and you don't want it to slip away,#8221; Wade said, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. #8220;We understand that we have a little momentum and we understand that they're going back home and their crowd is going to be amazing. Their energy and effort is going to be amazing. We're going to have to withstand all that.#8221;Bogans rule falters:The Bulls seemed to be in good shape when Keith Bogans knocked down his second 3-pointer of Game 4 in the third quarter. They were 31-2 this season when he scored at least 6 points.As it turned out, the Bulls could have used a third Bogans 3-pointer. He finished the night 2-for-6 from long range and the Bulls are now 31-3 when Bogans scores 6 or more.