CHICAGO -- Almost immediately, guard Derrick Rose recognized the problem with the inbounds pass that the Chicago Bulls had scripted during a timeout with three seconds remaining.

"It was a broken play," Rose said.

So he fixed it.

Rose banked in a 3-pointer as time expired to lift the Bulls to a 99-96 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night in Game 3 of an Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series. The Bulls seized a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Teammates mobbed Rose, who scored 24 of his game-high 30 points in the second half. He added seven rebounds and seven assists, and his aggressive drives led to 9-for-10 shooting from the free-throw line.

"That's his greatness," Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said. "There are not many like him. As a matter of fact, there are probably not any like him that combine the speed, the quickness, the power. He is shaking the rust off. The more he plays, the more comfortable he becomes."

The last-second loss left the Cavaliers to try to regroup in time for Game 4 on Sunday afternoon.

Forward LeBron James compiled 27 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds to lead Cleveland. Guard J.R. Smith added 14 points off the bench, and forward Tristan Thompson had 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Bulls forward Jimmy Butler contributed 20 points and eight rebounds. Guard Mike Dunleavy added 16.

"One-basket game, but our guys played their hearts out," Cleveland coach David Blatt said. "It was a hard-played game on the part of both teams. Physical but not dirty."

The score was tied at 96 with three seconds remaining when the Bulls lined up for an inbounds pass. Forward Mike Dunleavy found Rose, who dribbled to his right and drilled a deep 3-pointer.

Rose said he was supposed to receive the ball in the corner, but he ran toward Dunleavy when he realized that an open passing lane did not exist.

"I drove right," Rose said. "When I released the ball, I felt like it was a good shot, and it went glass and went in. ... I don't mean to sound cocky, but those are the shots that you want to take as a player."

Both teams revealed injuries to key players after the game. Blatt said guard Kyrie Irving was hindered by a sore foot that limited him to 11 points on 3-for-13 shooting. Meanwhile, Bulls guard Pau Gasol said he was dealing with a sore hamstring and was uncertain about his status for Game 4.

Irving said he injured his foot in Game 2 of Cleveland's first-round series against Boston.

"For me, I don't make any excuses," Irving said. "I was just trying to play through it the best I can."

Bulls forward Taj Gibson gave the Bulls a 96-93 lead by making two free throws with 23.5 seconds remaining. Smith evened the score at 96 with 10.8 seconds remaining on his fourth 3-pointer of the game.

Chicago entered the fourth quarter with a 74-73 lead. Rose scored six of the Bulls' first eight points to open the third quarter.

Emotions ran high as James and Bulls center Joakim Noah were whistled for technical fouls with 8:33 remaining in the third quarter. James stared down Noah after finishing a dunk, and the Bulls center responded by clapping forcefully and screaming toward James.

"As a competitor, I love his emotion," James said. "But I think the words that he used to me (went) just a little bit too far. I'm a father with three kids. It got very disrespectful."

Cleveland led 49-47 at the end of a back-and-forth first half that featured seven ties and eight lead changes. Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic came off the bench to score 11 points in the second quarter.

James had seven assists in the first quarter to help the Cavaliers build a 24-18 lead.

NOTES: Cavaliers G J.R. Smith returned to the court after serving a two-game suspension for punching Boston F Jae Crowder on April 26 in the first round of the playoffs. "He has worked hard these last 12 days to stay ready," Cleveland coach David Blatt said. ... Bulls G Jimmy Butler was presented with the NBA's Most Improved Player award before the start of Game 3. Butler, 25, averaged 20 points per game and received his first All-Star selection this season. ... Cavaliers G Iman Shumpert was cleared to play despite straining a groin on Wednesday. ... Bulls C Joakim Noah was fined $25,000 by the NBA for pushing a fan in Cleveland during Game 2. ... The Cavaliers' bus arrived to the United Center about 15 minutes behind schedule because of heavy traffic. "It didn't seem to bother them," Blatt said of his players.