Gasol leaves Game 3 with injury

Bulls center Pau Gasol left Friday's Game 3 in the third quarter with a left hamstring strain. He said he'll get an MRI on Saturday and he's uncertain about his status for Sunday's Game 4.

Gasol said the injury occurred during Game 2. He tried to play through it Friday, but was in some pain. He played the first five minutes of the third quarter, then left the game for good. He had a relatively quiet night, finishing with 6 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks in 22 minutes.

With Gasol unavailable, Taj Gibson played the entire fourth quarter, Nikola Mirotic played more than he has in this series and coach Tom Thibodeau went with a small lineup down the stretch - with Gibson the only big man.

In other injury news, Cleveland coach David Blatt revealed after the game that point guard Kyrie Irving has been battling a sore foot. Irving appeared to re-aggravate the injury in the first half and finished the night hitting 3 of 13 shots for 11 points and no assists.

"I am staying out there for my brothers," said Irving, who first suffered the injury in Game 2 of the first round against Boston. "I can be a decoy, set screens and do whatever I can to help us win."

Technical difficulties:

LeBron James got a technical foul in the second quarter for yelling something at Joakim Noah after a dunk. Following the game, James claimed Noah said something to him after a foul on the previous play.

"Jo, I love his emotions as a competitor," James said. "I think the words he used to me went a little too far. I'm a father with three kids, you know, it got very disrespectful. I'm OK competing with Jo. I love the competitive nature in him. We should leave it there. The disrespectful words were uncalled for. The best way to retaliate is by making a play."

Asked for his side of the confrontation, Noah wouldn't address it.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," he said.

After James was given the technical, Noah clapped his hands, but then walked toward James and started jawing, earning a technical foul of his own. Aaron Brooks picked up a technical in the third quarter for pushing Cavs guard Matthew Dellavedova.

Noah fined for shove:

Joakim Noah was fined $25,000 by the league for pushing a fan at halftime of Wednesday's Game 2 in Cleveland.

A video of the incident showed Noah walking off the court at halftime. A male fan standing at the side of the tunnel did something to get Noah's attention. The Bulls center stopped, took a step back and gave the fan a light one-handed push to the shoulder, then kept walking.

Asked about the confrontation on Thursday at the Advocate Center, Noah said, "I was just saying hello."

Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes was fined $50,000 for yelling at a fan on Wednesday at Houston.

Traffic snarls Cavs:

Due to heavy traffic on Friday, the bus carrying most of the Cavaliers starters didn't arrive at the United Center until roughly 70 minutes before tip-off. The arena wasn't full at the start of Game 3, no doubt because of a thunderstorm that hit the area around 5 p.m. and brought traffic in the city to a crawl.

"I've seen situations where guys get really nervous under those circumstances. I didn't see that," Cleveland coach David Blatt said before the game. "No police escort and these guys have probably been through this before, so they should be fine."

Smith back from suspension:

Cleveland shooting guard J.R. Smith returned to the floor Friday after serving a two-game suspension. Smith was penalized for throwing a backhand punch at Boston's Jae Crowder in Game 4 of the first round.

Smith didn't start Friday's Game 3. Oak Park native Iman Shumpert, who was questionable coming in with a groin injury, remained in the starting lineup. Smith made an impact, finishing with 14 points and hitting 4 of 8 shots from 3-point range, including a tying 3 with 10 seconds left.

Bull horns:

Joakim Noah knocked down 2 free throws early in the first quarter. That was significant because he had been 1-for-14 at the foul line during the playoffs. ... Derrick Rose shot his first free throw of the series at the 10:12 mark of the third quarter and finished the game 9-for-10 at the foul line. ... In Game 2 of this series, LeBron James recorded at least 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the 50th time in his playoff career. One more and he'll catch the NBA's all-time playoff leader in the category, Michael Jordan.