Heat open three-game set vs. Bulls with 116-113 victory in survival mode
Published in Basketball
One more win ... and the Miami Heat consider the possibility of breaking out the brooms?
No, this is not normal NBA scheduling, but it is where the Heat find themselves, in the midst of three consecutive games against the Chicago Bulls.
The scheduling the result of the teams’ Jan. 8 postponement at United Center, the Heat took the first game of the three-game set, 116-113, Thursday night on the Bulls’ court.
It wasn’t easy and it got shaky late when almost all of a 13-point lead was blown, but the Heat survived when Chicago’s Coby White missed a 3-point heave just before the final buzzer.
So behind 21 points from Norman Powell and a pair of double-doubles — 20 points and 12 rebounds from Bam Adebayo and 19 points and 10 rebounds from Jaime Jaquez Jr — the Heat turned a lengthy travel day into a needed victory, easing the return trip, with the teams next to meet Saturday and Sunday at Kaseya Center.
The Heat remained without Tyler Herro (ribs) and Davion Mitchell (shoulder), with the Bulls without Josh Giddey (hamstring) and then losing Jalen Smith (calf) for the second half.
Five Degrees of Heat from Thursday night’s game:
— 1. Game flow: The Heat led 34-31 at the end of the first period and 62-51 at halftime.
And then another negative third period for the Heat, as they took a 91-85 lead into the fourth. It was the seventh consecutive third quarter that the Heat have been outscored.
From there, the Heat moved ahead by 13 early in the fourth, before the Bulls staged a comeback that included a Powell foul with 10.1 seconds to play that put Ayo Dosunmu at the foul line, where he made both free throws to make it 112-111.
The Heat called time at that stage, with Powell fouled with 8.9 seconds remaining, making both for a 114-111 lead.
The Heat then fouled before the Bulls could get off a 3-point attempt, with White making both foul shots to leave the Heat up 114-113 with 7.1 seconds to play.
The Heat then went quickly to Pelle Larsson for a layup, for a 116-113 lead with 4.6 seconds to play, in a moment when he also likely could have dribbled out the clock.
So another Bulls timeout, with it ended on White’s missed 29-foot open heave.
— 2. Bam’s boost: Adebayo made it six consecutive games with at least 20 points, now the third longest streak of his nine-season career.
He again got to work early, scoring seven of the Heat’s first 14 points, up to 14 by halftime.
Adebayo now has scored 20 or more in nine of the last 10 games, with double-doubles in four of his last five games.
He closed 7 of 19 from the field, including 2 of 8 on 3-pointers.
— 3. Rotation revision: After being reduced to the back of the rotation in Wednesday night’s home loss to the Magic, Kel’el Ware this time was first off the Heat bench.
Included in Ware’s first stint were a pair of first-quarter 3-pointers, which gave him 53 for the season, tying the franchise single-season record of 53 for a 7-footer, set by Meyers Leonard in 2019-20. Ware then broke that record with a third-quarter 3-pointer.
It nonetheless remained an either/or equation, with Adebayo and Ware not on the court together, and Nikola Jovic the closing choice in the power rotation.
Ware was limited to 12 minutes, closing with 12 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots.
4. Still going: Jaquez continues to pace the bench, his attacking style providing relief points when the Heat offense otherwise stagnated.
In addition, he again filled the box score, this time also adding five assists and three steals, active on both ends of the court, including securing the game’s final rebound.
He paced a feisty Heat bench that also got 11 points from Dru Smith and eight from Jovic.
— 5. Over and over: Next up? The Bulls. And then? The Bulls again.
As part of the reconfigured scheduling created by the Jan. 8 postponement at the United Center due to court condensation, the teams will play Saturday and Sunday nights at Kaseya Center.
That had the originally scheduled Friday game at Kaseya Center moved to Saturday.
The Heat’s only other game before next Thursday’s NBA trading deadline is Tuesday night against the visiting Atlanta Hawks.
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