LeBron elbows Bulls out of playoffs as Cavs advance

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:12

LeBron elbows Bulls out of playoffs as Cavs advance

Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James (23) reacts after scoring and being fouled during the fourth quarter of Game 5 of their NBA Eastern Conference playoff series against the Chicago Bulls in Cleveland, April 27, 2010. [Photo/Agencies]

CLEVELAND - The top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to the second round of the playoffs by claiming a tightly contested 96-94 win against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.

LeBron James fell just short of his second straight triple-double, claiming 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Cavaliers to a 4-1 best-of-seven victory.

However, James gave Cleveland an injury scare late on when he was forced to shoot a free throw left-handed after suffering a right elbow injury.

Cleveland will now face the Boston Celtics, who eliminated the Miami Heat on Tuesday with a 96-86 win to wrap up their series 4-1.

In a relatively close game, Cleveland had a team-high 25 points from Antawn Jamison, who made a three-pointer in the final minutes to complete a 10-2 spurt that gave the Cavs a 93-84 advantage.

Derrick Rose scored a game-high 31 points and Luol Deng added 26 for the Bulls, who trailed by just three points when Rose missed a shot inside to give the ball back to Cleveland with ten seconds of the game remaining.