Coup’s Takeaways: Bulls Come Back, Throw Heat Off Rhythm in Fourth Quarter

For the second time in a week the HEAT lost a tough, clutch game against a good opponent on the first night of a back-to-back and had a chance to get right against a team with far more losses than wins a day later.

This one went far differently than the last one, when Miami pulled away from Washington late.

Yes, the Bulls were No. 10 in the Eastern Conference at 25-38 coming into this one, but they’re 3-9 since the trade deadline – Zach LaVine was sent to Sacramento as part of a multi-team De’Aaron Fox trade – and were without Nikola Vucevic and Lonzo Ball tonight right as the HEAT got most of their rotation back. And you could feel the difference in the two rosters early on Chicago staying relatively close but struggling to find consistent looks while Miami ran their stuff, Kel’el Ware leading off with two buckets and Andrew Wiggins scoring nine of the first 21 points.

Soon enough it was HEAT by double digits, the lead stretching all the way to 17 despite a rather cold night from the arc – Chicago was having an even tougher time – as Miami swarmed Coby White and forced others, not up to it at the time, to create while Terry Rozier hit a trio of triples.

Remember rookie Matas Buzelis, he of that 24-point, 10-of-10 performance in Chicago’s win the night before Miami’s big trade? He wasn’t quite as perfect tonight but his attacking gained the Bulls a little downhill traction, White and Josh Giddey adding a handful of drives themselves as Chicago fought back, down seven at the break. The difference in Shot Quality still felt stark to the naked eye, but the scoreboard only cares about the points that go on it.

Zach Collins corner three to kick off the third, Bulls only down four now, and then another one from Collins right after that caused Erik Spoelstra to call timeout less than a minute into the half. Order was restored soon after with a series of fouls and Herro threes, including a four-point play, and the game loosened up a bit from there, Chicago’s offense speeding up even as Miami pulled away back into double digits.

Chicago refused to fade into the night, however, back within two just as quickly as the HEAT had previously pulled away, Giddey and White getting downhill again. Threes, including another from Rozier, helped from there, Miami making their weakside kickouts while Chicago barely got the ball over the rim on a handful of decent looks. As a Rozier corner look fell, his fifth three of the night, at the buzzer, Miami was back up 11.

Chicago dipped their toes into zone waters to open the fourth as the HEAT’s threes hit iron and it was back to five with nine to play, headed for a clutch game when the Washington game earlier in the week went in the opposite direction. A few hits were dodged that could have forced a tie, but then the Bulls led anyway as their speed got to work.

A couple Wiggins jumpers put Miami back in front, but Chicago wasn’t going away, White and Tre Jones doing damage in the paint and in the passing lanes. Bulls by three with over a minute to play, and then it was a deep Giddey three at the end of the shot clock that put Chicago up four with the shot clock off and Miami out of timeouts. A Herro airball followed and it was Chicago’s night, 114-109.

While this was not a night for explosive, efficient offense – Chicago’s Offensive Rating was a mere 109.6 – you could feel the visitors slowly building momentum, bit by bit, even as Miami had a vice grip on their halfcourt process through the first quarter-plus.

First it was Buzelis getting into the paint and free in the second half, then it was Giddey – he of a 26 point, 12 assist, 10 rebound night – stringing together physical, spinning drives. There were those two Collins threes to open the second half and Jones burrowing his way into the paint on blowbys in the fourth. Coby White was having a nightmare of a game at the start, the HEAT shading extra defenders towards him to get the ball out of his hands any time he tired to push the ball forward, but one the rest of Chicago’s players started to make plays White started to see the seams quicker as he finished with 21 points on 16 shots.

After scoring 48 in the first half, Chicago scored 30 in the third and 35 in the fourth.

This was Miami’s fourth loss – the other three against Atlanta, Orlando and Brooklyn – in 13 games in which their opponent shot under 30 percent, which given the way the HEAT’s defense is structured, the collapse arms and legs and bodies into the paint at the risk of allowing a few threes, is not typically something that goes hand and hand with HEAT games. If their opponents shoot poorly, the HEAT are designed to win those games, but it was Chicago’s drives, the constant drives, that did the lasting damage, 58 points in the paint in all.

While it wasn’t much of an evening for silver linings, Miami did get much of their rotation back in place. Wiggins fit into his role just as well as he had been before his ankle injury, 22 points on 17 shots with 3-of-5 from three, and Kel’el Ware added seven points on seven shots to go with 12 rebounds.

That meant Kevin Love, Pelle Larsson and Kyle Anderson didn’t play among those who had received regular minutes in recent games, keeping tabs on the rotation at large. But outside of Wiggins and the player who we’ll talk about in a moment, there wasn’t enough shooting to keep Miami’s offense moving forward.

Rozier needed a night like this, to be sure, 5-of-9 from the floor, all of them threes, for 15 points, earning himself 27 minutes and a place in the fourth quarter while coming off the bench. The HEAT’s struggles with late-game offense continued – just 20 in the final 12 –  Chicago getting them out of rhythm with some zone minutes that deserve a second watch, but in the bigger picture there’s always a chance a game like this gets Rozier, shooting well below his averages for the season, back in the direction he assuredly wants to go in.

HEAT Games Are Now Available on Prime Video

FanDuel Sports Network is also now available through Prime Video as an add-on subscription to stream HEAT games. Prime Video customers in the HEAT television territory can subscribe and watch local FanDuel Sports Network content, including live games, directly through Prime Video. To get started, open the Prime Video app or visit gohe.at/PrimeVideo, search “FanDuel Sports Network” and select a plan.

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By ML Staff. Courtesy of NBA.