There seems to be an area of difficulty in South Florida when it comes to putting teams away. Both the Florida Marlins and Miami Heat felt the proverbial choke monster rearing his ugly head Monday night against a team from Chicago.

Fortunately for the 20,000 strong at American Airlines Arena, the Heat fought through the grasps and held off a late charge by the Bulls to win Game 2 115-108.

The same can't be said about the Florida Marlins, who blew a 3-run lead in the 8th inning in Wrigley thanks to reliever Josh Johnson - 6 earned in 1 inning, highlighted by a Jacque Jones 3-run jaque.

Of course, we can expect this kind of performance from the young Marlins. Bullpen woes will be the norm this season so get used to it.

But the Heat?

With a cast including Shaq, D-Wade, GP and Employee #8, there's no way the now love-a-Bulls should get the best of this all-star squad, right? Well, despite a raucous Bacardi-sipping crowd, the Bulls' hot shooting (would've made Frank Nitti jealous) combined with Miami's part-time defense allowed Chicago to cut a 20-point deficit to just 4 with under 2 minutes to play in the 4th quarter.

However, as we've all become accustomed, Wade put on his MVP cape, shined his newly chromed dome and put the Bulls away with a routine jumper from the top of the key.

Regardless of Game 2's outcome, the Heat's inability to close the door put doubts in the minds of many. If they can't shake the Bulls, what are they going to do with Vince Carter & Richard Jefferson? What about Rasheed Wallace and Rip Hamilton? Don't even get me started on Manu and Tony Parker.