NBA: Nikola Vucevic, Bulls overpower banged-up Heat | Inquirer Sports
NBA

NBA: Nikola Vucevic, Bulls overpower banged-up Heat

/ 01:33 PM December 21, 2022
Nikola Vucevic Chicago Bulls NBA

Nikola Vucevic #9 of the Chicago Bulls gestures to a teammate after committing a foul during the fourth quarter of the game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on November 01, 2022 in New York City. Dustin Satloff/Getty Images/AFP

Nikola Vucevic scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the visiting Chicago Bulls ended a four-game losing streak with a 113-103 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.

DeMar DeRozan scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half, and Zach LaVine added 21 points and seven assists for the Bulls, who took a 2-0 lead in the season series with the Heat.

ADVERTISEMENT

Miami, which had its four-game win streak snapped, has lost three of its past four home contests. All three of those defeats were to teams with losing records.

The Heat were led by Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.

FEATURED STORIES

Adebayo made 12 of 15 shots from the floor to finish with 27 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

Herro, after a poor start, finished with 19 points and seven assists.

Miami played without three starters: point guard Kyle Lowry (knee) and forwards Jimmy Butler (illness) and Caleb Martin (ankle).

Due to those absences, Victor Oladipo started his first game of the season for Miami and Haywood Highsmith started his second. Highsmith scored a career-high 18 points, and Oladipo had 14.

Early on, there were six lead changes in the first five minutes, but Chicago pulled away to secure a 31-21 first-quarter lead. Chicago shot 55 percent in the first, and Miami shot just 36.4 percent.

The Bulls, though, went scoreless for nearly four minutes to open the second quarter. Miami closed the first half with a 9-4 run, taking a 57-52 lead into intermission.

Herro, after his frigid 0-for-4 first quarter, went 4-for-4 in the second. He led all second-quarter scorers with 11 points. As a team, Miami shot 63.6 percent in the second quarter, including 46.2 percent (6 of 13) on 3-pointers.

However, Chicago dominated the third quarter, outscoring Miami 36-20 to take an 88-77 lead into the fourth. Chicago got 11 points from Vucevic and 10 from DeRozan in the period.

The Bulls never trailed in the fourth.

For the game, Chicago shot 54.8 percent, while Miami shot 46.9 percent.

RELATED STORIES

NBA: Jalen Brunson, Knicks baffle Bulls to pick up OT win

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

Read Next
Don't miss out on the latest news and information.

Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.

TAGS: Chicago Bulls, NBA
For feedback, complaints, or inquiries, contact us.
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our sports news

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.



© Copyright 1997-2023 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. To find out more, please click this link.