Bulls shut down Shaq, beat Heat

Shaquille O’Neal had one of his worst playoff games and Chicago took advantage, beating visiting Miami 109-90 on Thursday night in an NBA game that got heated in the end.

The Bulls pulled within 2-1 in this first-round series and host Game 4 on Sunday.

O’Neal finished with eight points and four rebounds. He had one basket through the first three quarters and scored six meaningless points in the fourth, narrowly missing his career playoff low. O’Neal had seven points against Houston on April 19, 2004.

Miami’s James Posey was ejected with 3:15 left after knocking down Kirk Hinrich on a fast break.

Six seconds later, Antoine Walker fouled out and got called for a technical foul. So did Udonis Haslem, who served a one-game suspension for throwing his mouthpiece toward an official in the opener.

Chicago’s Ben Gordon scored 24 points after being held to 13 in Game 2 on Monday, and Kirk Hinrich finished with 22 points and 11 assists.

Nuggets 84, Clippers 87: At Denver, playing without suspended Kenyon Martin, Denver beat Los Angeles behind Carmelo Anthony’s 24 points.

The Nuggets will try to tie the series 2-2 Saturday night in Denver, after which Martin might be allowed to return to the team.

Marcus Camby added 12 points and 13 rebounds for Denver, which snapped a six-game losing streak since clinching its first division title in 18 years on April 10 in Portland.

Corey Maggette scored 23 points to lead the Clippers, who got 20 points from Sam Cassell and 17 from Elton Brand.

Nets 107, Pacers 95: Jermaine O’Neal tied a career playoff high with 37 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and Indiana beat New Jersey to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Earlier, O’Neal was fined $15,000 by the NBA for publicly criticizing the officials after a Game 2 loss.