Thibodeau wants Bulls to keep looking for Boozer

Carlos Boozer didn’t play in the fourth quarter of Game 2 as coach Tom Thibodeau turned again to Taj Gibson.

Boozer produced 7 points and 8 rebounds Wednesday, after collecting 14 points and 9 boards in the series opener.

The Bulls needed some sort of scorer to step up in Game 2. Derrick Rose with 21 points and Luol Deng with 13 were their only two players to reach double figures.

“Carlos will be fine,” Thibodeau said. “I thought he missed some shots he normally makes. But we want him to be aggressive and attack the basket. We’ve got to search him out a little bit better. I think we’ve got to get him more looks.

“We know the one thing: When he’s getting touches and when he’s aggressive, he’s very difficult to stop down there.”

Following a quick Saturday practice at the Berto Center, Boozer looked forward to arriving in Miami, where his three young sons reside.

He’s hoping a faster tempo can help all of the Bulls get going offensively.

“We got one of the fastest guys in the world on our team,” Boozer said, referring to Rose. “But to get the ball to him in transition where we can follow him and chase him, we’ve got to get stops. Once we get stops we’ll get the ball in his hands so we can run.”

Heat back home:The Heat downplayed the advantages of coming home for Game 3. Miami is 6-0 during the playoffs at American Airlines Arena. The Bulls are 3-2 on the road in the postseason.#147;We can#146;t take our home record, our home energy for granted,#148; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. #147;We have to come out ready for the mental and physical grind.#148;#147;We understand this team is a very hard-working team,#148; LeBron James said of the Bulls. #147;They#146;re going to try to steal home court back. We#146;ve done some great things on our home court in this postseason, and we#146;re looking to do that. Our fans deserve it.#147;We#146;re going to go out here and give it 110 percent the same way we played in Chicago Game 2 and see what happens with the final result.#148;Better third quarter:LeBron James told reporters in Miami that his team tried a new tactic in Game 2 to help solve the third-quarter doldrums: Less rest, more action after returning from the locker room.#147;We changed our halftime, our warm-up thing,#148; he said. #147;Usually guys, we play so many minutes, we use it as downtime. We got out and got a good warm-up and came out with a sense of urgency in the third quarter.#148;Familiar numbers:Since starting the postseason hitting 17 of his first 30 shots from 3-point range, Kyle Korver is just 3-for-15 in the last five contests.This might seem like Korver#146;s worst slump of the season over five games, but it#146;s not. He went 3-for-16 from Nov. 26 to Dec. 4; and 2-for-13 from Mar. 25 to Apr. 1.Comedic timing:LeBron James was talking about playing 46 minutes in Game 2 with reporters in Miami on Friday when teammate Dwyane Wade mentioned that the end of the world was predicted to strike Saturday.#147;I wish the game was today,#148; James quipped. #147;I#146;d play 48 minutes.#148;