Heartbreaker: Butler sinks Bulls with game-winner at buzzer |
MIAMI - The Chicago Bulls (10-17) can't buy a break right now, and that trend continued in Miami on Saturday. Squaring off against the Miami Heat (15-11) for the final time this season and the second time in 48 hours, the Bulls had a chance to win the season series for the first time in four years.
Coming off their eight-point win on Thursday, the Bulls knew they would be in for a battle yet again, and it was the Heat who punched them in the mouth early and often. Despite being down by double digits throughout the first half, the Bulls continued to show the fight they had shown for the better part of the past month and battled back to pull even in the fourth quarter. That was until the former Bull Jimmy Butler came back to break the Bulls hearts as his buzzer-beating bucket lifted the Heat 118-116 and gave them the season split with Chicago. Along with the loss, the Bulls lost another body as Torrey Craig left the game with a foot injury during the second half. Chicago can't seem to catch a break with the injuries right now, as Craig was having his best game of the season with 16 points before leaving with the injury. Pair that with Alex Caruso continuing to nurse an ankle injury of his own, and the Bulls bench will need scoring as two of their better scoring options off the bench are out. Not only are those two out, but Zach Lavine has been out for the past three weeks, and it doesn't appear he will be back anytime soon. Although not his most consistent season scoring-wise, Lavine was the team's best scorer before the injury, and it certainly put a strain on the Bull's starting lineup. That was until Coby White emerged as one of the best three-point shooters in the league this season, as his ability to score has helped stabilize the Bull's offense while the rest of the players are getting more involved on the offensive. White was at it again, extending his franchise record for games with at least three triples to 14 consecutive games to come away with 22 points. He also added seven rebounds and five assists as he continues to play an excellent PG. Even when the Bulls were down 36-24 at the end of the first, you never thought they would get blown out as their ball movement the past month has been incredible, and you saw that in the second quarter when the Bulls outscored the Heat 33-22 to pull within one at the half. White was doing his part distributing the basketball, but Craig had the hot hand as he had all 16 points in the first half while connecting on four of his five triples. Like in the first, the Heat dominated the Bulls in the third and once again built a double-digit lead, only to have Chicago storm back in the fourth to pull even before getting beat at the horn. Demar DeRozan was one of the big reasons for that, as Mr. Fourth Quarter came up huge throughout the second half and led the Bulls with 27 points. DeRozan has heard his name in trade conversations all season, but he has made it clear that he wants to be here not only this season but also in the long term. The Bulls will have to make a decision on him sooner or later, but he is the perfect veteran leader that could help a new-look roster next season. Patrick Williams was another player who had a massive game on Saturday, as his aggressive, offensive nature showed up in a big way with 25 points. His production and White and DeRozan helped offset Ayo Dosunmu and Nikola Vucevic as they combined for only 20 points in the loss. Vucevic had the better of the two games with 12 points, but also added 11 rebounds. Had it not been for Craig and his performance off the bench, the Bulls would have lost this game by 20 points, as their bench had only 22 points, with 16 coming from Craig. The hardest part when defending Miami is the amount of depth that team has, as you never know who will step up from one night to the next. Sure, Butler is going to get him, and with a game-high 28 points, including the game-winning bucket, Butler continued to be as consistent as possible, but he was far from alone in the victory. He was joined by Caleb Martin (17 points) and Kyle Lowry (10 Points) as those three provided the lone double-digit scorers for the Heat. Compare that to what the Bulls top three starters did and the Bulls starters outperformed the Heat's starting five which isn't often the case. Typically, when that happens, you are in a great position to win most games, but that wasn't the case in this one, as the Miami Bench went out to show why they have always been one of the better second units in the league. Having one double-digit scorer is tough enough for a team to defend, but when you two players drop at least 15 points off the bench, it shows you how much depth this team has. Kevin Love turned back the clock with his 22 points as he connected on six of 10 threes in the win. That was nearly half of the Miami triples (13), while Love added seven rebounds in the win. Love wasn't alone in having a big game as Jamie Jaquez Jr backed up his team-high performance on Thursday with another 18-point effort Saturday. Jaquez is another example of the Heat taking a gamble on a player that many didn't think had a chance to make it in this league as that has been something Erik Spoelstra has done phenomenally with throughout his career as the 52 points from the Miami bench saved the day for the Heat in their 118-116 win.
