CHICAGO — Shaquille O'Neal took a seat near his locker, wearing a gray vest and slacks, a tie and pinstriped shirt. He looked sharp during the game, too.
O'Neal dominated, Dwyane Wade played well despite a bruised left hip and the Miami Heat never trailed in eliminating the feisty Chicago Bulls 113-96 on Thursday night.
The second-seeded Heat won the best-of-seven series 4-2 and will meet the third-seeded Nets in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Miami swept the Nets in the first round last year.
O'Neal had 30 points and 20 rebounds while staying out of foul trouble as Miami won its first playoff series against the Bulls and its first postseason game in Chicago.
"I knew coming into the game that I was going to my finesse game," said O'Neal, who was 13 of 24 from the field. "I wasn't really trying to use the power because I was going to go to my jump hooks, turnarounds, fadeaways. I came in with the mind-set I was going to stay out of foul trouble — don't help, don't commit any silly fouls."
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Wade scored 23 points, and although he spent more time on the perimeter than usual, he was 7 of 12 from the field, including 2 of 3 on three-point attempts.
But this was Shaq's game from the start.
"I told them, 'Just give me the ball,'" he said. "They knew what I wanted to do tonight. They knew I wasn't going to be in foul trouble. I wanted to close these guys out."
"He was definitely aggressive out there," Bulls center Tyson Chandler said. "He kind of took the game into his hands. He was probably the liveliest I've seen him the whole series. He played like Shaq tonight."
● Nets 96, Pacers 90: In Indianapolis, the Nets won the best-of-seven series in six games and advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Nets trailed 2-1 in the series before winning three straight, two in Indianapolis. The Nets will face Miami, which beat Chicago in six games, in the second round. The second-seeded Heat will have the homecourt advantage.
The Pacers played without Peja Stojakovic for the fourth time in the series because of a sore right knee. Stojakovic, the team's second-leading scorer in the regular season, played in Indiana's only two wins in the series.
"We knew going in that this wasn't a six seed," New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank said. "We were fortunate that Peja was only able to play in two games."
Former Net Anthony Johnson scored a career-high 40 points.
Ex-Wildcat Richard Jefferson scored 30 points, and Vince Carter added 24 for the Nets. Jason Kidd approached a triple-double with eight points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds.
