Miami Heat’s LeBron James gestures during an NBA championship ring ceremony, before the Heat’s basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Miami, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. AP
MIAMI — They got their rings before the game, then a challenge as it was winding down.
The Miami Heat responded to both.
Shane Battier went 4 for 4 from 3-point range, including a critical one from the right corner with 1:33 remaining, and the Heat wasted most of what was a 25-point lead before holding off Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls 107-95 on Tuesday night in the season-opener for both teams.
LeBron James scored 17 points for Miami, which got its 2013 NBA championship rings in a pregame ceremony. The Heat trailed 9-2 early, then outscored Chicago 52-24 over the remainder of the first half.
Rose finished with 12 points in 34 minutes in his first game since a serious knee injury in April 2012. Carlos Boozer had 31 points and seven rebounds for Chicago, which got within eight points in the final minutes.
But Battier’s right-corner 3 – a staple for the Heat – snuffed out the comeback, and Miami wasn’t in trouble again.
Chris Bosh scored 16 points, Battier finished with 14 and Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers each had 13 for Miami, which had seven players score in double figures.
Ray Allen and Norris Cole each scored 11 for Miami.
Rose shot 4 for 15 for the Bulls.
By halftime, Miami was rolling, up 54-33 – putting the game on pace for a 108-66 final, which would have exactly matched the score of the game in 2006 when Chicago came into Miami and spoiled the Heat franchise’s first ring night.
Not this time, though the Bulls made it plenty interesting down the stretch.
A layup by Butler with 5:34 left got the Bulls within 15, and after he missed the ensuing free throw, the rebound made its way to Kirk Hinrich – who made a 3-pointer that cut Miami’s lead to 91-79.
Hinrich fouled out on the ensuing Miami possession, and Rose checked back in with 5:14 left after spending the entire fourth quarter to that point on the bench. Wade scored seconds later, the Heat followed that with a stop, and James simply overpowered Luol Deng in the post on the next trip to restore the 16-point lead.
But again, the Bulls weren’t done, cutting the lead to 95-87 on a drive by Boozer with 2:47 left. They would get no closer, and Miami held on despite giving up 37 points in the final quarter.
Rose’s start was promising early, with two early drives for impressive scores. The Bulls led 15-10 when Rose checked out for the first time with 3:36 left in the opening quarter.
When he returned, the lead was gone for good. The Heat outscored the Bulls 13-3 in Rose’s first stint on the bench, turning a five-point lead into a five-point deficit, and by then the Heat were off and running.
Over a 4-minute stretch of the second quarter, everything changed.
Rose’s surgically repaired knee might be fine, but in the basketball vernacular, Cole broke the ankles of the 2011 NBA MVP – starting a run that turned what was a tight game into a romp. Cole faked out Rose on the dribble, causing the Bulls’ star to tumble over, and the Heat reserve connected on an 18-foot jumper that sent the Miami bench leaping from its seats.
That began the 17-0 run. The Bulls missed nine straight shots, Rose getting blocked by Bosh on one, and the Heat went to work. Miami shot 7 for 10 during the burst, which was capped by a driving layup by James with 4:23 left, and suddenly the Heat led 41-20.
It was a runaway, and became a grind-it-out win.