Cavaliers dump Deng's Bulls out of play-offs
GB basketball star Luol Deng was unable to prevent his Chicago Bulls side from exiting the NBA play-offs at the hands of LeBron James's Cleveland Cavs.
Cleveland won game five of their first-round series 96-94 to seal a 4-1 victory over the Bulls.
Deng scored 26 points as the Bulls lost in the first round of the play-offs for the second consecutive season.
The league's Most Valuable Player James was restricted to 19 points as he was troubled by elbow problems.
"It has been going on for a few weeks. Hopefully it doesn't continue to bother me as we move forward," said James, who had to shoot a free throw with his left hand late in the game.
Antawn Jamison scored 25 points for the top seeds Cleveland, who face the Boston Celtics in the second round.
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Derrick Rose top-scored with 31 points but the young point-guard missed a key shot with just over a minute left for the Bulls.
Deng's early end to the season could at least have its benefits for the GB team, who will play eight EuroBasket qualifying group matches against Macedonia, Ukraine, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Hungary this summer.
The forward, who has averaged 18.8 points playing over 40 minutes per game in the five-game series, missed last summer's finals in Poland in order to rest a leg injury.
But GB coach Chris Finch is hopeful he will be available as they look to prove themselves worthy of an Olympic spot for the 2012 Games in London.
Meanwhile, Finch capped his debut season as a coach in the NBA's Development League by winning the title with his Rio Grande Valley Vipers team.
The franchise, who are run by the NBA's Houston Rockets, beat the Tulsa 66ers 84-81 in game two to seal a 2-0 win in the best-of-three series.
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