Bulls try to hand game to Heat, who refuse to take it in humbling 125-118 loss

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun Sentinel on Jan 31, 2026

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MIAMI — The Miami Heat had been here before, when the opposition basically tried to hand a game away.

That was in November, when the Cleveland Cavaliers sat out Donovan Michell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley.

On that night, the Cavaliers nonetheless found their way to victory behind the unlikely likes of Craig Porter Jr., Tyrese Proctor, Luke Travers, and, yes, former Heat center Thomas Bryant.

This time, the Chicago Bulls felt it prudent Saturday night to hold out Josh Giddey, Coby White, Nikola Vucevic and Jalen Smith among others.

And again backups, two-way players and unknowns found a way against Erik Spoelstra’s team, with the Heat falling, 125-118, Saturday night at Kaseya Center.

This time the loss came against a team that at one stage fielded a lineup of Yuki Kawamura, Jevon Carter, Julian Phillips, Dalen Terry and Lachlan Olbrich.

That humbling.

That sobering.

For their part, the Heat were without Norman Powell (personal reasons), Tyler Herro (ribs) and Davion Mitchell (shoulder).

But no excuses, not in this one, even with the Heat getting 21 points and 11 rebounds from Bam Adebayo.

Ayo Dosunmu led the Bulls with 29 points.

The teams meet again Sunday at Kaseya Center.

Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday night’s game:

— 1. Game flow: The Heat trailed 31-26 at the end of the opening period, then moving to a 63-56 halftime lead, before the Bulls took a 91-84 lead into the fourth, with the Heat yet again coming apart in a third quarter.

From there, the Bulls went up nine early in the fourth, before the Heat finally found their legs to tie it 106-106 with 3:37 to play.

Later, an Andrew Wiggins 3-pointer tied it 116-116. It could have been a four-point play, but he missed the ensuing free throw with 1:20 to play.

Five straight Bulls points followed, leaving the Heat down 121-116 with 39.1 seconds to play, effectively ending it.

— 2. And another one: With Powell, Herro and Mitchell out, the Heat moved to their 15th lineup in their 50th game.

This time it was two-way player Myron Gardner with his first NBA start, in a lineup that also included Adebayo, Wiggins, Pelle Larsson and Kasparas Jakucionis.

It was the 29th start for Larsson and eighth for Jakucionis.

Gardner played as an energetic pest throughout, something the Heat needed amid a lethargic performance, closing with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

— 3. A rough start: Not only did Adebayo open 1 of 8 from the field, including 0 for 4 on 3-pointers, but then well after draining a fourth-quarter 3-pointer, that basket was overturned during an ensuing timeout, when it the NBA’s Replay Center ruled he had stepped out of bounds, dropping him to 0 for 5 from the arc.

He came around with his first 3-point conversion with 7:36 to play, seizing his moments in the fourth quarter.

The initial struggles came in the wake of breakout play by Adebayo, who had scored 20 or more in his previous six games, as the reigning NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week.

He closed 7 of 18 from the field, including 1 of 8 on 3-pointers.

— 4. Where’s Ware?: It was another night when second-year Heat center Kel’el Ware stood as an afterthought in Spoelstra’s rotation, this time with just 3:11 of action, despite initially playing ahead of struggling Nikola Jovic in the rotation.

After being victimized by a pair of Bulls blow-bys in his initial stint, there was no additional stint, with Jovic instead moved up when Adebayo went out.

Ware closed 1 of 2 from the field, with two points and one rebound.

— 5. Jaquez again: It was the bench unit that finally got the Heat going, with Jaime Jaquez Jr. up to 14 points by the intermission. He then slowed from there.

For Jaquez it was a follow-up to his 19-point performance on Thursday night in Chicago, including a late 3-pointer.

This time he closed with 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds.