The Miami Heat’s winning streak came to an end on Saturday night as the Chicago Bulls rallied for a 102-97 victory, with 23 points from DeMar DeRozan leading the way.
The Bulls have now trailed by double digits in three consecutive games, forcing them to attempt a comeback for the third game in a row. In spite of falling behind 22-1 in the middle of the first quarter and hearing boos from the home crowd, the Bulls rallied fiercely in the fourth quarter to end their three-game losing run.
All five of Chicago’s starters—Alex Caruso included—scored in double figures. Coby White scored fourteen points, Nikola Vucevic fifteen, and Zach LaVine thirteen.
The Heat, led by Jimmy Butler’s 25 points, didn’t let the lead slip away until the very end. But in the waning seconds of the game, Butler failed to convert on two 3-point attempts. The 24-point and 10-rebound performance was Bam Adebayo’s eighth of the season. Seventeen were added by Duncan Robinson.
The Bulls took their first lead of the game on a 3-pointer by Alex Caruso in front of the Heat bench with 51.8 seconds left in the game. In the final 22 seconds of regulation, Chicago took the lead for good on a turnaround fadeaway by DeRozan. Five seconds before halftime, DeRozan made two free throws to put the game out of reach, despite a shooting performance that started poorly from the field and the charity stripe.
More than seven minutes into the first quarter, LaVine snapped the shooting slump with a running jumper, bringing the Bulls back from a 22-1 deficit after they missed their first ten attempts.
This was the first meeting between the two clubs since April, when the Heat upset the Bulls in a Play-In Tournament game after falling down in the fourth quarter. After that, the Heat started their unlikely journey to the NBA Finals by entering the playoffs.