Bulls catch fire late to top Heat

Sam Navarro - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 8 hours ago

MIAMI—The Chicago Bulls (26-38) must be okay with being stuck in mediocrity because that is all this team has been for the better part of five seasons. Even when this team looks to be taking by trading away Zach Lavine and sitting some of their key remaining pieces, the Bulls can't even tank right as they not only occupy the final play-in spot but have increased their lead in the process.

That shows you how bad the bottom of the Eastern Conference is, as the Bulls have to try and be worse than they already are. Coming off an impressive comeback win against the Orlando Magic on Thursday, the Bulls were looking to complete the Sunshine State sweep as they traveled to American Airlines Arena to take on the Miami Heat (29-34).

Like the Bulls, Miami is one of those teams stuck in neutral as they remain in the playoff hunt despite trading away Jimmy Butler. However, if there were ever a time for Miami to tank a season, now would be the time as the Heat let a massive second-half lead get away in the Bulls 114-109 victory. The fourth quarter was the ultimate decider in this one as the Bulls nearly doubled up the Heat in the final 12 minutes to outscore them 36-20 and grabbed the win.

Once again, it was the Josh Giddey show, as the trade to acquire him is looking better each day. Giddey has been on a long run of solid play, but with 26 points to lead all scorers, he once again upped his game. Giddey also added 10 rebounds and 12 assists to post his third triple-double since the All-Star break.

He was the engine that made the Bulls cook, but in reality, the entire starting five did their job, with all of them landing in double figures. Coby White had a quiet 21-point night, but a big reason for that was his 0-8 night from distance. In fact, the Bulls went just 11-42 from deep, as the outside shot wasn't falling.

With Zach Collins getting another start, some wonder if you will see Nikola Vucevic anymore this season. If it were up to the Bulls, Collins would be the starter the rest of the way, as he continued to impress with 18 points and 15 rebounds, and the conversation about his future needs to be had.

You also had Tre Jones back in the starting lineup for the injured Lonzo Ball, and with 15 points and five assists, Jones is starting to produce at a high level. After having the hot hand in the first half with 11 points, Matas Buzelis cooled down in the second half, but he still picked up 13 points with five rebounds. While the Bulls bench only had 21 points in the victory, Kevin Huerter was the go-to option, as he added 11 points despite going 1-9 from deep.

Without Butler, the Heat no longer have that go-to player who can seemingly take over a game at any point. What they do have is a balanced offense that has plenty of scoring options, with Andrew Wiggins leading the way with 22 points. Acquired as the return piece in the Butler deal, Wiggins is starting to feel comfortable with his new team, and his overall play has increased because of it.

Wiggins was joined by Bam Adebayo and his 22 points, as that duo did a little bit of everything for the Heat. Tyler Herro and his 21 points joined those two in posting solid numbers. He, too, struggled from a distance, going just 2-7. Miami had an equally tough time knocking down the three-point shot, making 13 of 43 three-point attempts in the loss.

Even with three starters posting 20-plus point efforts, the rest of the Heat starting lineup was non-existent and combined for just 11 points. That meant that it would be up to their bench to pick up the slack, and with Terry Rozier (15 points) and Duncan Robinson (12 points) combining for 27 points, they did their part to keep the Heat in front most of the night.

The only problem was the lack of scoring from the rest of their bench, as Miami scored just six bench points apart from those two guys and was never able to put the Bulls away. That proved costly in the end, as the Bulls used that massive fourth quarter to take the lead and pick up the win. Chicago is now a full four games clear of Philadelphia for the final play-in spot, as it does appear the Bulls are going to sneak into the postseason again.