"A big game for Carlos Boozer. A bigger game for Chris Bosh. In a frustrating postseason of injuries and tough matchups, it seems like Boozer just can't win.

The Bulls forward overcame a difficult first quarter — when he was 0-for-5 from the field and failed to score — to total 26 points and grab 17 rebounds, including 10 offensive boards, in the Bulls' 96-85 loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday night at American Airlines Arena.

''I just played off my teammates,'' Boozer said. ''Let them do their thing and try to find the open areas and be aggressive when I got it.''

Boozer hit 8 of 11 shots in the second and third quarters but was 0-for-3 in the fourth — though he did hit five free throws — as the Heat pulled away to take a 2-1 series lead.

''They're a good team. They're here for a reason,'' Boozer said. ''We have to do a better job on their other guys. It's tough when you put so much attention on LeBron [James] and D-Wade. We have to be able to help and recover to our men.''

And Bosh countered with an even better performance — 34 points on 13-for-18 shooting.

''He's hitting a lot of jump shots right now,'' Boozer said. We have to try and make him drive to inside help and see where it goes from there.''

Boozer was coming off a seven-point, eight-rebound performance in Game 2. And it didn't look good when he missed all five of his first-quarter shots. But he scored eight of the Bulls' first 10 points in the second quarter to keep the Bulls close. "