The Champs return to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The reigning NBA Champions Miami Heat pulled off the same feat they did in 2011 as they knocked off the fifth seeded Chicago Bulls in five games in the second round to advance to their third straight Eastern Conference Finals. After losing Game 1 at home, the responded by winning four straight games to book their ticket to the Conference Finals.

Photos ©NBA

The Bulls, coming off a seven game series in the first round against the Brooklyn Nets came in to the second round battered with a ton of injuries from Derrick Rose who has missed the entire season recovering from the torn ACL injury he suffered in last year's Playoffs, as well as players like Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich who are vital to the Bulls run in this year's playoffs. They were able to steal a game in Miami with an impressive Game 1 victory. Unfortunately for them, it would only be their only win of the series. They were unable to defend their homecourt against the reigning NBA champions and eventually suffers from four straight losses that ended their playoff run.

As for the Heat, after sweeping the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. They were well rested coming into the second round. LeBron James was crowned his fourth season Most Valuable Player award (his second back-to-back MVP seasons). They were heavily favored in this series. They dropped Game 1 on their home floor, however the Heat responded with a vengeance as they blew out the Bulls in Game 2, taking the next two in Chicago with empathic wins and they came back in Game 5 to wrap their series up and move on to the Eastern Conference Finals as their run for the repeat will continue.

The Heat will face the winner of the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers, in which as of this moment of writing, the Pacers have a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Knicks.

As for the Bulls, "The Return" of Derrick Rose may not have happened this season, but with the extra downtine for him, he'll be back come next season. If he does return, expect the Bulls to come back to the elite of the Eastern Conference. To Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich, get well soon as well. Chi-town will have better days come next season.

Here are the scores from all games of the series:

GAME 1 @ Miami: Bulls 93-86 Heat

Bulls leaders:
Points: Robinson 27, Butler 21, Noah 13

Rebounds: Butler 14, Noah 11, Boozer 7, Belinelli 7

Assists: Robinson 9, Noah 4, Butler 3

Heat leaders:
Points: James 24, Wade 14, Bosh 9, Allen 9

Rebounds: James 8, Bosh 6, Battier 4

Assists: James 7, Chalmers 7, Wade 4

GAME 2 @ Miami: Bulls 78-115 Heat

Bulls leaders:
Points: Belinelli 13, Noah 12, Robinson 11

Rebounds: Noah 6, Boozer 4
Assists: Belinelli 6, Teague 3, Noah 2, Robinson 2

Heat leaders:
Points: Allen 21, James 19, Cole 18
Rebounds: Cole 6, James 5, Bosh 5

Assists: James 9, Wade 5, Chalmers 4

GAME 3 @ Chicago: Heat 104-94 Bulls

Heat leaders:
Points: James 25, Bosh 20, Cole 18
Rebounds: Bosh 19, James 8, Wade 4, Andersen 4

Assists: James 7, Wade 5, Bosh 4

Bulls leaders:
Points: Boozer 21, Robinson 17, Butler 17
Rebounds: Noah 11, Robinson 6, Butler 5, Gibson 5
Assists: Robinson 7, Belinelli 6, Noah 4

GAME 4 @ Chicago: Heat 88-65 Bulls

Heat leaders:
Points: James 27, Bosh 14, Andersen 9
Rebounds: James 7, Haslem 7, Bosh 6
Assists: James 8, Wade 4, Cole 4

Bulls leaders:
Points: Boozer 14, Butler 12, Hamilton 11
Rebounds: Boozer 12, Noah 9, Gibson 9
Assists: Robinson 4, Hamilton 4, Teague 3

GAME 5 @ Miami: Bulls 91-94 Heat

Bulls leaders:

Points: Boozer 26, Robinson 21, Butler 19

Rebounds: Boozer 14, Noah 9, Robinson 5, Butler 5
Assists: Robinson 6, Butler 4, Noah 2

Heat leaders:
Points: James 23, Wade 18, Bosh 12

Rebounds: James 7, Bosh 7, Wade 5
Assists: James 8, Wade 6, Allen 2, Chalmers 2

Heat win series 4-1

K-Smoove