USA - Wallace, Deng star as Bulls top Heat

CHICAGO (NBA) - Ben Wallace did crucial work on the offensive glass in the waning seconds and Luol Deng scored 33 points as the Chicago Bulls held off the Miami Heat's furious rally down the stretch en route to a 96-91 victory in Game One of their first-round NBA play-off series.

Wallace grabbed 14 rebounds and Ben Gordon had 24 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds for Chicago, who were ousted by Miami in six games in a first-round series last season.

"I thought we did a nice job on the break," Chicago coach Scott Skiles said. "We had good spacing and moved the ball well. The game was played at a tempo that we like to play at.

"I wonder why we coughed up a nine-point lead so easily. Our guys always battle and play hard, we just made a few good plays at the end."

Yao Ming had 28 points and 13 rebounds and Tracy McGrady scored 22 second-half points as the Houston Rockets posted an 84-75 triumph over the Utah Jazz in Game One of a Western Conference first-round match-up.

Rafer Alston had nine points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Houston, who overcame a lacklustre 39% shooting (27 of 69) effort.

Houston trailed 42-33 at the intermission due largely to the lack of offensive production by McGrady, who was held to just one point on 0-of-6 shooting - a career post-season first-half low.

"They came out more relaxed and we were kind of uptight," McGrady said. "I couldn't get anything going I wanted it so bad."

Houston coach Jeff van Gundy said: "Sometimes when you want something so badly, it works against you. I think that's what happened the first half."

New Jersey Nets' Vince Carter had another wretched shooting day at the Air Canada Centre, but the high-flying All-Star still did enough in the fourth quarter to beat his former team the Toronto Raptors 96-91.

Hearing the jeers from a sell-out crowd each time he touched the ball, Carter made just five of 19 shots, but scored nine of his 16 points in the final period as the Nets held on for the win in the opener of their first-round Eastern Conference play-off series.

In New Jersey's two regular-season losses in Toronto, Carter made just nine of 32 shots from the field and scored a total of 29 points. In the first three quarters, Carter converted just three of 12 shots. But the Nets still managed to build a 15-point lead.

Richard Jefferson did most of the damage for the sixth-seeded Nets, scoring 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting.

Chauncey Billups had 22 points and 11 assists but Tayshaun Prince nailed the biggest shot of the game as the Detroit Pistons held off a late-game surge in a 100-92 victory over the Orlando Magic in Game One of their first-round play-off series.

Rasheed Wallace scored 16 points for Detroit, who have won three straight series openers in the first round. The Pistons reached the Eastern Conference finals last season and the NBA Finals the two previous campaigns.

"I just count down games won," Billups said. "If we win by one or 21, it doesn't matter. We want to play our best ball, but these are the play-offs. Everything we do, they're going to be ready for.

"Every game is different. Game Two will be altogether different than this one. They'll make adjustments, and we will, too.

"I've always said the series doesn't really start until one team wins on the road."

FIBA