(Sports Network) - At the end of the day form held in the East and the two top teams will now battle for conference supremacy starting Sunday in the Windy City when the Chicago Bulls play host the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the East finals. Its interesting and perhaps apropos that Bulls general manager Gar Forman and Miami president Pat Riley were named co- recipients of the 2010-11 NBA Executive of the Year award recently. Both administrators re-made their teams in the offseason and have them in position to reach the NBA Finals. In his 13th season with Chicago, and second as its general manager, Forman saw the Bulls win a league-best 62 games, rookie coach Tom Thibodeau earn the 2010-11 NBA Coach of the Year award, and Derrick Rose become the youngest player to win the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the NBA Most Valuable Player. Forman also helped transform a pedestrian 41-win team by signing free agents Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver among others. Riley, of course, was the architect of one of the most successful offseasons in NBA history. In addition to re-signing superstar Dwyane Wade, Riley completed trades for perennial All-Stars LeBron James and Chris Bosh, while successfully re-signing Joel Anthony and inking role players like Eddie House, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Mike Miller. The Heat amassed 58 wins and garnered the second seed in the Eastern Conference. The top-seeded Bulls are heading back to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1998. This time around, its Rose leading the charge instead of Michael Jordan. Rose scored 19 points and dished out 12 assists on Thursday, as the Bulls routed Atlanta, 93-73, in Dixie to finish off the Hawks in six games. Selected to the All-NBA First Team earlier on Thursday, Rose helped the Bulls improve to 13-1 all-time in playoff series in which they have led 3-2 after five games. The last time Chicago found itself in the conference finals, Jordan was leading the Bulls to their third straight NBA title and sixth overall. Were happy to get to the conference finals, Rose said. But were not planning to stop right there. The Heat, meanwhile, finished things against the Cs in five games on Wednesday when James, who was the NBAs MVP in the previous two seasons, polished off the series-ending flurry with the last 10 points, capping a 33- point night that put the Heat in the conference finals for the first time since Wade led the club to the NBA championship in 2006. Youre not beating the Boston Celtics with one guy as the focal point of your offense, Wade said. Thats why I recruited and found help ... When you have another guy thats capable of doing what LeBron does it makes the game easier. He had my back in a big way. Thats what weve been dong all year. Wade was sensational in the close-out game as well, totaling 34 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Bosh added 14 points and 11 boards. Part of the reason [Wade, Bosh and I] joined forces is because of the blueprint [Boston] laid a few years ago, James said. Finally getting over the hump over this team, and with everything I did last summer with the Decision, it means everything [to win]. The Bulls swept a three-game season series with Miami this season, taking two in the Windy City and another in South Beach. All three contests were won by razor-thin margins, however, with Chicago winning by three, four and one, magnifying the Heats biggest weakness in the regular season, the inability to close out tight games. The clubs have met in the postseason five previous times with Chicago taking four of those sets. The Bulls swept Miami in the first round in the 1992, 96 and 2007 playoffs. Chicago also took the Heat in five games in the 97 East finals while Miami earned a six-game triumph over the Bulls in the first round of the 06 postseason. Overall, Chicago is 16-5 against the Heat in the postseason. I think a lot of people are looking forward to this series, James said. Honestly, a lot of people didnt think wed get past Boston. So were moving on and were looking forward to the challenge. Two good teams, two great defensive teams, so its going to be a struggle for both teams offensively at times. May the best man win. Game 2 of the set will also be in Chicago on Wednesday, May 18. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . James is being kept out of Miamis final road game -- against the Cavaliers -- as the Heat get ready for the NBA playoffs by resting almost all of their top players. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China . -- Nicolas Deschamps had a goal and two assists and Marcel Mueller added three assists as the Toronto Marlies defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins 4-2 in American League Hockey action Friday. http://www.wholesalejerseysdeals.u... .ca. Kerry, I appreciate your earlier comments on Torontos handling of the Vanek goal, and Im sure youve seen the Howie Rose-Kris King interview by now. [url=http://www.wholesalejerseysdeals.us.com/]Wholesale Jerseys China . Mario Mandzukic all but killed off the tie in the 64th minute, heading in a rebound to leave Juventus needing to score four goals in 26 minutes. Claudio Pizarro added Bayerns second in stoppage time, while Arjen Robben hit the post for the German champions.ST. LOUIS -- Adam Wainwright held the hug with catcher Yadier Molina a few extra seconds, soaking in his latest pressure-packed performance for the St. Louis Cardinals. "Ive got to put it right up there with the most fun and one of the greatest moments of my career so far," Wainwright said. "Those are the kind of moments that starting pitchers live for. I almost didnt want to let go of Yadier." Wainwright went all the way on the mound Wednesday night, pitching the Cardinals past the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 and into the NL championship series for the third straight season. David Freese and Matt Adams each hit a two-run homer, and Wainwright scattered eight hits for his second dominant win of the division series. "I wanted it bad. Its probably the most nervous Ive ever been," Wainwright said. "I dont get a whole lot of nerves when I pitch. Before I pitched today, I was pretty nervous." For three years now, nobody is better than the Cardinals when they cant afford to lose. And after coming through again in a winner-take-all Game 5, St. Louis gets to stay at home to open the NLCS against the well-rested Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night. By ending Pittsburghs storybook season, the Cardinals improved to 8-1 when facing post-season elimination the past three years. They also won Game 5 of the NL division series in Washington last year -- even though Wainwright got rocked -- and at Philadelphia in 2011. "Well take him on the mound any day, especially in a big situation," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "I love the fact that everybody kept asking him about Game 5 last year because I knew that was just bringing even more to the table, if you could even do that." Freese homered in the second inning off rookie Gerrit Cole, and Adams connected in the eighth against reliever Mark Melancon to make it 5-1. Pete Kozma added an RBI infield single, and Wainwright finished it off by striking out Pedro Alvarez with two on. "Im just so fired up for this team and this city right now," Wainwright said. "Cardinal fans were rockin today." Alvarez became the first major league player with an RBI in his first six post-season games on a fluke hit that caromed off first base in the seventh. But the Pirates, who stopped a record streak of 20 consecutive losing seasons this year, were held to one run in each of the final two games of their first playoff appearance since 1992. "We were able to take a huge step forward this year in restoring the pride and the passion of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization," manager Clint Hurdle said, "and rebonding our city with a ball team." Despite their charming turnaround and a victory over Cincinnati in the NL wild-card game, the Pirates havent won a post-season series since the 1979 World Series. Wainwright was helped by three double plays -- two when Pirates runners strayed too far on line drives. The right-hander struck out six and walked one in a 107-pitch complete game. "Every time we turned around, Wainwright got in the way tonight," Hurdle said. "The at-bats were better, the approach got better, but he kept making pitches."t; Sidelined with an arm injury when the Cardinals won the 2011 World Series, Wainwright threw seven innings of three-hit ball to beat Pittsburgh 9-1 in the series opener.dddddddddddd He is 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA and four saves in 15 career post-season games, including six starts. He even helped the Cardinals to a championship as a rookie closer in 2006. But still, Game 5 last season against the Nationals was fresh in his mind. "Its hard not to think back about what happened in Game 5 last year. I just wanted to prove I could go out there and be a good playoff pitcher," Wainwright said. The 23-year-old Cole beat the Cardinals with an impressive effort in Game 2. They got to him early this time even though his fastball hit 100 mph in the first inning against Matt Holliday. Freese made the kid pay for a full-count walk to Jon Jay with two outs in the second, lining a 1-2 pitch into the visitors bullpen in left. Cole gave up just three hits over five innings, but was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the sixth. Jay made it 3-0 in the bottom half with a two-out RBI single off Justin Wilson. Freese struggled this season to overcome a back injury in spring training and had nine homers and 60 RBIs. But just like teammate Carlos Beltran, hes an October star with seven homers, 29 RBIs and a .325 average in 36 career post-season games. Adams power hitting helped the Cardinals overcame a mid-foot sprain to cleanup man Allen Craig in early September. And on this night, Adams hammered a first-pitch fastball from Melancon well over the right-field wall for his first RBIs of the series. The Pirates scratched out their lone run on two infield hits and the single by Alvarez that looked to be a harmless inning-ending groundout before it hit the bag. Freese was a hometown hero in 2011, both the NLCS and World Series MVP. He singlehandedly got the Cardinals to Game 7 of that World Series against Texas with a two-run triple with two outs and two strikes in the ninth and then ended Game 6 with a leadoff homer in the 11th. "Hes a stud. Hes a big-time player at big-time moments," Wainwright said. "And thats what we expect of him and thats what he continues to deliver." At 23 years, 31 days, Cole was the youngest NL pitcher to start Game 5 of a division series and the fifth-youngest NL pitcher to start a winner-take-all post-season game, according to STATS. Counting the post-season, Cole didnt allow a homer in six straight starts. That ended when Freese connected for a 2-0 lead in the second. Neil Walker drew a one-out walk in the first from Wainwright, who issued just 35 free passes during the regular season and none in Game 1. Walker went no further. After a leadoff single by Marlon Byrd in the second, Matt Carpenter was perfectly positioned at second base to snare Alvarezs liner and flip to first for a double play. NOTES: Lou Brock, clad in a red sport coat worn by all the Cardinals Hall of Famers, bounced the ceremonial first pitch, with pitcher Joe Kelly making a nice scoop. ... Josh Young, in town for the musical Evita, sang the national anthem. ... It was the 24th meeting between the teams this season, with each team winning 12 times. cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '