Chicago ? Shaquille O’Neal’s words were sharp and pointed and aimed straight at his target, like those passes he whips to cutters when he is double-teamed.

CHICAGO'S LUOL DENG, LEFT, celebrates with Kirk Hinrich after scoring against Miami. The Bulls defeated the Heat, 96-91, in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series Saturday in Chicago.

His target this time was referee Eddie F. Rush.

“My intention was to come out and be myself, until Eddie Rush derailed me,” O’Neal said after fouling out.

Chicago’s Luol Deng also played a big part in knocking defending champion Miami off track. So did Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni.

Deng scored 33 points, Gordon and Nocioni each hit two free throws in the final 19 seconds, and the Chicago Bulls held off the Heat, 96-91, Saturday in Game 1 of their opening-round rematch.

“This game was really big,” Deng said. “Now that we have the lead, most of the time the team that loses has to adjust. We did a lot of things today that worked for us.”

The Heat trailed 92-91 after Dwyane Wade found Udonis Haslem for a layup with 38 seconds left, but Gordon hit two foul shots with 18 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Wade missed a three-pointer, and Nocioni hit two more free throws with 9.8 seconds left for the final score.

Game 2 is Tuesday night in Chicago.

The Heat beat the Bulls in six emotional games last year on the way to the championship, but injuries limited them to 44 wins during the regular season. Still, this looked like a difficult matchup for a Bulls team that dropped from the second seed to fifth in the Eastern Conference when it lost the finale to New Jersey.

Wade missed 23 games late in the season with a dislocated left shoulder and struggled through three quarters. He scored nine in the fourth and finished with 21, while O’Neal had 19 points before fouling out with 3:19 left.

He accused the Bulls of flopping and said they had “lot of help out there.”

“It’s just unfortunate that people fall for that,” said O’Neal, who scored 10 points in the first quarter before the fouls piled up. “I’m used to just outplaying somebody and just playing hard, but I guess that’s what you got to do to stop Shaq.”

Deng, who enjoyed a breakout season but had struggled against the Heat, made it look easy this time, hitting 14 of 22 shots. Gordon chipped in with 24 points and a career-high 11 assists, and Nocioni scored 17 points.

That was enough to offset a rough outing by Kirk Hinrich, who finished with two points and had five fouls. With Hinrich in foul trouble, Thabo Sefolosha guarded Wade and held him to 3-of-10 shooting through three quarters.

“More and more as we’re going through the playoffs, I’ll continue to see my confidence come back in my game,” Wade said. “There’s stuff I want to do that I’m not able to do, but I’ll continue to work on it before and after practice.”

The Bulls appeared to be in control late in the third quarter. Tyrus Thomas blocked consecutive shots by Gary Payton and Antoine Walker (20 points), then broke the other way for an alley-oop dunk that made it 70-59. That brought the fans to their feet and sent Miami into a timeout. Gordon’s 19-foot jumper made it 72-59 with 38 seconds left in the quarter.

O’Neal and Wade headed to the sideline with their fifth fouls about 3 1/2 minutes into the fourth, but the Heat refused to go away. They were within 78-76 after two free throws by Walker.

Miami’s superstars checked in with 4:58 remaining and the Bulls ahead by three. Nocioni’s three-pointer made it 84-76 with 4:24 left, and when he drove the lane and got fouled by O’Neal with 3:19 remaining, things were really looking good for the Bulls.

O’Neal left the game, Nocioni hit the free throw to complete the three-point play, and the lead was 87-79.

“I thought I was just standing there,” O’Neal said. “Even if I did have part of the back of my foot on the line, they couldn’t make the call watching two things at once. The inconsistency is just very frustrating.”

Nocioni fed Deng on a 2-on-1 for a three-point play that made it 92-83 with 1:51 left, before the Heat made another run.

“I thought we did a good job of taking their best shot and sticking with it,” Gordon said.

A few hard fouls aside, the only shots in this game were jumpers, drives and free throws. There was none of the hostility that has marked Bulls-Heat games in recent years.

James Posey did not knock down Hinrich in the open court as he did in Game 3 last year, resulting in a one-game suspension. Nor did he take down Deng from behind as he did in December, in a game Wade left with a sprained wrist after Hinrich tugged on his arm.

Wade guarded Deng early on Saturday, with others pitching in. No one had much luck, though.

It was a sharp contrast from the regular season, when Deng had two eight-point games against Miami.

“I knew I didn’t do well against them,” he said. “I had to look at the tape and see what they were doing. We did a really good job of moving the ball.”

Rockets 84, Jazz 75

Houston – Maybe Tracy McGrady just needed a minute to adjust. Playing with homecourt advantage for the first time in his career, the seven-time All-Star had just one point at halftime before scoring 16 points in the third quarter to lead Houston over Utah.

McGrady, who scored 23 points, was 0-for-6 in the first half. Before his outburst, the Rockets relied on Yao Ming, who finished with 28 points and 13 rebounds.

Utah led by nine at halftime and was ahead 49-41 before Houston went on an 8-2 run, fueled by 7 points by McGrady to get within two. A jump shot by Deron Williams made it 53-49 before a 3 by Battier put Houston within striking distance.

The Rockets took a 54-53 lead late in the third when Derek Fisher missed a fast break layup and Rafer Alston got the rebound and found Yao alone at the other end of the court for a one-handed dunk. McGrady’s 16 points in the third quarter came on 7-of-8 shooting. After Yao’s dunk, he made a long two before sinking a three on the next possession to push Houston’s lead to 59-53. After the three, McGrady backpedaled while repeatedly yelling ‘Yeah’ at the frenzied crowd.

The Jazz made just four shots in the quarter and Carlos Boozer missed three of six free throw attempts.

Utah cut the lead to two points several times early in the fourth quarter, but each time the Rockets answered. Consecutive 3s by Alston and Luther Head stretched Houston’s lead to 71-63 and the Jazz didn’t threaten again.

Nets 96, Raptors 91

Toronto – Vince Carter drew plenty of boos in his return to Toronto for the playoffs. Yet he wasn’t the real problem for the Raptors.

Richard Jefferson scored 28 points, Jason Kidd had 15 assists and 10 rebounds, and New Jersey held off a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Raptors in Game 1 of their first-round series.

Carter, the former Raptors star who was jeered throughout the afternoon, scored 16 points but shot just 5-of-19. But Jefferson stepped up to make 11 of 21 shots, including eight of his first 10. He scored 11 points in the first quarter.

“Richard is a very talented guy,” Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. “He had a good rhythm to his game. That’s what you need in the playoffs.”

Chris Bosh led the Raptors with 22 points while T.J. Ford scored 21. Anthony Parker scored 16 points and added nine assists for the Raptors.

“We had opportunities, we just made mistakes at the wrong time,” Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said.

Pistons 100, Magic 92

Auburn Hills, Mich. – The Detroit Pistons demonstrated why they could return to the conference finals for a fifth consecutive season. The Orlando Magic proved they have a ways to go.

The Pistons never trailed, while the Magic – the only playoff team with a losing record – turned the ball over 21 times, missed 18 free throws and never really threatened to win.

Richard Hamilton scored 22 points, Rasheed Wallace had 16 and midseason addition Chris Webber added 12 for the Pistons, the No. 1 seed in the East.

Detroit point guard Chauncey Billups, dubbed Mr. Big Shot for his clutch play, made his free throws down the stretch but otherwise wasn’t needed in that capacity Saturday. Instead, he had 22 points and 11 assists while holding his counterpart, Jameer Nelson, to 10 points.