Bulls add to Heat woes at home with 105-89 win
MIAMI — Bobby Portis scored 22 of his 26 points in the second half, Wayne Selden added 20 and the Chicago Bulls ran away in the second half to beat the Miami Heat 105-89 on Wednesday night.
Lauri Markkanen had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls, who finished January with a 2-13 record — the franchise’s second-worst mark ever in that month. Kris Dunn scored 14 and Robin Lopez added 13 for Chicago, which shot 51 percent.
Article continues after this advertisementTyler Johnson scored 15 points for Miami, which got 14 from Justise Winslow and 13 apiece from Bam Adebayo and Wayne Ellington. The Heat shot 38 percent, including 12 of 42 from 3-point range.
The Heat fell to 11-14 at home — and the Bulls, who snapped a four-game slide, moved to 7-20 on the road. Portis had 15 points in the fourth, while Miami’s entire roster managed 21 in the final 12 minutes.
Both teams were without key pieces.
Article continues after this advertisementMiami — which will be without Derrick Jones until mid-March at least and isn’t planning to have point guard Goran Dragic back until at least the All-Star break — held out Dwyane Wade with right knee soreness, with the belief that it isn’t terribly serious. Chicago was without Zach LaVine because of a sprained right ankle, making that determination after he tested it out and experienced pain before the game.
The Bulls led by 10 after the first quarter, took a two-point lead into halftime and then found themselves trailing by six early in the third. But they answered with an 18-5 run over the next five minutes, and led by three when Dion Waiters tried a 3-pointer with 1:38 left for the tie.
It missed, and with that the Bulls were off and running.
Chicago finished the quarter on a 7-0 run, taking a 78-68 lead into the fourth. Miami never got closer than seven again.
TIP-INS
Bulls: Carmelo Anthony still appears on Chicago’s roster. The official reason for him not playing is listed as “trade pending.” … Chicago has reached 100 points in 14 consecutive games, the team’s longest streak since the 1991-92 season. … Selden added eight assists.
Heat: Miami won the season series 2-1. The Heat have swept the Bulls only twice in 31 seasons. … Hassan Whiteside got a technical foul in the third quarter for pulling himself up on the rim after a dunk. He argued that Markkanen was in his landing vicinity, to no avail. … Josh Richardson scored 12 points.
WADE DEAL
Wade was announced Wednesday as an ambassador for BallerTV, a site streaming live amateur sports such as high school basketball. Wade — who has used it to follow his son’s games — said part of the appeal for him is that students do much of the announcing and camera-operating. “They get a chance to get a camera from BallerTV and go do this themselves. It helps youth get to their dreams. I liked that,” Wade said.
BIG DIFFERENCE
The temperature at tip-off in Miami was 68 degrees, a bit cool for South Florida. Factor in the wind chill in polar-vortex-stricken Chicago, and the air there at game time felt like minus-34 — a mere 102-degree difference between the two cities.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Visit the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.
Heat: Host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.