The Chicago Bulls entered Saturday’s game against the top-seeded Miami Heat hounded by questions about their ability to compete with the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
The game provided the same answer: With one week left in the regular season, the Bulls still can’t beat the best.
The Heat started red-hot, opening 12-for-13 from the field en route to a 127-109 victory at the United Center.
Even after ceding the early lead, the Bulls traded shots to keep their deficit within single digits until the second half. But they broke in the third quarter, slipping into a blowout after being outscored 32-22.
With the loss, the Bulls fell to sixth place in the East, a half-game behind the Toronto Raptors, and dropped to 0-17 against the top-three teams in both conferences.
“When you’re playing against elite teams, either in the West or the East, those are always barometers (and) measuring sticks of where you have to get to as a team,” coach Billy Donovan said before the game. “The Heat — this season and what they did the last few years — they’re battle tested in a lot of ways that some of our guys are not battle tested.”
The loss came in spite of big nights from All-Stars Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, who combined for 59 points, LaVine scoring 33 and DeRozan 26.
LaVine opened the game 3-for-3 from 3-point range and finished with five baskets from behind the arc. He and DeRozan totaled 28 points in the first half while the rest of the Bulls combined for 29. It’s common for the duo to score the majority of the Bulls’ points, but relying solely on DeRozan and LaVine to take shots stagnated the rest of the offense.
Nikola Vučević was quiet in a 12-point night, making only two shots in the second half. Coby White couldn’t add any offene, going 0-for-9 while creating a defensive liability guarding Jimmy Butler. White didn’t score until he hit a free throw with less than two minutes left in the game.
Meanwhile, the Heat set up plays to purposefully switch White onto Butler, running the guard at him three times in a row in the second quarter to result in a bucket or a foul each time. Butler finished with a team-high 22 points, one of seven Heat players who scored in double digits.
“The challenge is playing against their consistency,” LaVine said. “(The Heat) do a good job of playing the same way the whole four quarters. They’re really consistent with what they do offensively and defensively.”
Each Bulls comeback attempt was cut short. Ayo Dosunmu ended the first half by earning a flagrant foul for landing under Kyle Lowry as he took a 3-pointer, upending the Heat guard into the lap of a courtside fan.
Patrick Williams responded a bit to calls from Donovan to play with more aggression, blocking shots on back-to-back plays resulting in a pair of breakaway buckets in the first half. But while his 4-for-6 shooting was an improvement from previously timid performances, his 12 points weren’t enough to turn the tide.
The loss was only the start of a tough week for the Bulls, who play host to the Milwaukee Bucks (second in East) and Boston Celtics (third) on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Each game previews a potential playoff matchup for the Bulls, who were firmly positioned at fifth in the East for several weeks after tumbling from the top of the conference standings to begin the calendar year.
In the current standings, the Bulls would face the Celtics in the opening round of the playoffs. But they also could slip into the play-in tournament — the Bulls are only two games ahead of the No. 7 seed Cleveland Cavaliers, though they hold the tiebreaker based on winning the season series 3-1.
“You have to go through some of these moments when you play against these elite teams like we’re getting ready to play these next three games,” Donovan said. “You find out what is required going against these kinds of teams.”
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