The Miami Heat fall to the Chicago Bulls on the tail-end of the back-t0-back by a score of 124-116. This brings the Heat's record to 14-11 on the season as the team still looks for some level of consistency with an under-manned roster.
Chicago would prove to be too much for the Heat as they had four players score 20 or more points with the standouts being Coby White who had 26, Nikola Vucevic with 24, Ayo Dosunmu with 24, and DeMar DeRozan scoring 23. Miami did have six in double-digits led by rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. with 22 points, but it couldn't get the job done Thursday.
The opposing team would control the paint with 52 points in the area and capitalize off the Heat's 11 turnovers by scoring 17 off of them. All in all, it was a frustrating night for Miami who look to be fatigued coming out of the win over Charlotte just the night before.
Here are three Heat takeaways from the loss to the Bulls:
Another up-and-down first half
It feels like deja vu. Just as the Heat started Wednesday night against the Hornets, they started just as poorly Thursday. It wasn't the nine turnovers like they had in the previous game, but there's no doubt that Miami was overwhelmed by how well Chicago was shooting from three-point range.
The Bulls were shooting 63.6 percent from deep which equates to seven made shots out of 11 attempts. Spoelstra said before the game to ClutchPoints that besides the main key players of the opposing team, Coby White has been an X-Factor for them in the absence of Zach LaVine. He even said that he's the “number one three-point shooter in the league right now.”
He showed that and more with his two made three-point shots in the first quarter. Adding that with the exceptional start for DeMar DeRozan (nine first quarter points), it led the Bulls to a 36-point quarter compared to the Heat's 22. At one points, the score was 33-8.
While Miami would end the first period with a 13-3 run, they were still in a massive hole. The Heat would then turn it around as they became to set their own pace as Chicago cooled down by shooting 37.5 percent from the field and 25 from deep. On the other hand, Miami would shoot 52.6 percent and 66.7 percent from the three-point line.
The ultra-impressive Jaquez Jr. would once again impress with 14 first half points, eight of them in the second period. The comparisons will continue for the rookie as the way he drives and improvises at the basket are very similar to teammate Jimmy Butler.
His contributions plus Lowry who had nine points and Caleb Martin who had seven in the second quarter would erase the huge deficit and dwindle it down to four points to enter halftime.
Frustrating second half
While the Bulls controlled the first quarter and the Heat took over the second, the next period was more even between the two teams. Like at the end of the first half, Chicago would take control in the beginning by building up a lead, but Miami would go on a nice run that would make their deficit by five points heading into the final period.
In the third quarter, solid big-man Nikola Vucevic scored 15 points and didn't matter which center Miami put on him. He attempted 11 shots in the 12 minutes of play, making six of them.
Like always, the game came down to a significant fourth quarter. Historically in this season, Miami would play their absolute worst. Just recently, it had happened in back-to-back wins over the Hornets in the two previous games. However, the Heat would have big leads in those games, it was different this time around as Chicago was in the front-seat for most of the contest.
The fourth quarter was more of the same for the Heat as once again, they couldn't put up their best performance in clutch time. Sloppy mistakes resulted in easy Chicago baskets. While Miami would try to claw their way back in it, the Bulls never let them get too far.
Another test against the Bulls Saturday
With whatever the result is for Thursday's game, it's now in the past. The Heat need to have short-term memory and fix their mistakes going into Saturday, December 16 where they face the Bulls yet again.
It will be the fourth time Miami has faced the Bulls this season where so far, the season series is at 2-1 in the opponent's favor. While the team won't make it themselves, one could use the excuse that the fatigue set in as the Heat were playing on the tail-end of the back-to-back. Chicago did have the benefit over the home team with having a day off, but Saturday will be an even-playing field.
Simply put, the Heat can't start how they did the past couple of games. Even though the team is under-manned without some key players, Miami has to play to their strengths and not get overwhelmed like they did Thursday as the Bulls were shooting the lights out of the arena.
Time will tell to see how the team acts with their backs against the wall. Though if there is one trait Miami thrives in, it's being the underdog and having doubters.
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