Miami Heat vs. Chicago Bulls: Game 3 Postgame Grades and Analysis

The Miami Heat simply outlasted the Chicago Bulls, 104-94, in Game 3 of their second-round series.

A lack of depth crushed a resilient Bulls team late in the fourth quarter, as the Heat outscored the Bulls 34-24 in the final 12 minutes of the game.

LeBron James scored 12  in the fourth quarter, and he ended the night with 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists—shooting a perfect 11-of-11 from the charity stripe.

In addition to his stat line, the most impressive part of LeBron's Game 3 performance was him not letting Nazr Mohammed's push—which resulted in an ejection—get under his skin.

With the Heat struggling to find consistent production from LeBron and Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh stepped up with 20 points and a truly impressive 19 rebounds. 

Norris Cole also had one of the best games of his NBA career with 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc. 

It was truly a team effort for the Heat in Game 3, as the Bulls, led by Carlos Boozer's 21 points, gave them all that they could handle. 

Game 4 is Monday in Chicago, and while the main storyline will be whether Derrick Rose will suit up, the Bulls have a lot to work on as they are faced with an absolutely must-win situation. 

Point Guards

Mario Chalmers, PG, Heat

Mario Chalmers didn't have an awful night, with nine points and three assists, while shooting 3-of-6 from the field. 

His play, though, was certainly overshadowed by Norris Cole's 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting. 

With that being said, Chalmers had a productive game and didn't try to do more than the Heat needed him to do.

If the Heat are able to work him and Cole into a rotation that is effective and productive, the Heat are going to be a difficult team to beat.

Overall Grade: B

Nate Robinson, PG, Bulls

When you look at Nate Robinson's stat line of 17 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals, you'll see the productivity he brought to the floor.

What you don't see at first glance is the awful 1-of-7 shooting he put up from beyond the arc—with most of those misses coming at pivotal times for the Bulls.

Robinson is an exciting and electrifying player, but he must be more efficient if the Bulls are going to have a chance against the Heat.

Shooting 5-of-13 from the field and 1-of-7 from beyond the arc just won't cut it for Chicago. 

With that being said, Robinson swatted a LeBron James layup attempt, which was absolutely epic, so that bumps his grade up a bit. 

Overall Grade: B

Shooting Guards

Dwyane Wade, SG, Heat

Just two turnovers and two points in the first half?  Yep, that's the kind of night that Dwyane Wade had. 

The more interesting aspect of that first-half stat line was the single field-goal attempt Wade put up. There's just no doubt Wade isn't at 100 percent, and that couldn't have been more evident in Game 3.

Wade ended the night with 10 points, five assists and four rebounds, which isn't bad, especially when you consider he shot 5-of-7 from the field. 

He did commit four turnovers, which were costly in light of his non-aggressive offensive performance. It was an interesting night for Wade, and it'll be even more interesting to see if his reserved offensive performance trickles into Game 4 or if he'll return to his aggressive offensive attack.

Overall Grade: B

Marco Belinelli, SG, Bulls

The difference maker for the Bulls in the first half was Marco Belinelli, with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, three rebounds and three assists. 

Sure, he did miss a laughable dunk attempt with LeBron James trailing, but he was the main reason why the Bulls were able to be down just two points at the half.

Belinelli cooled off in the second half, shooting just 1-of-5, and adding just four points to his total. 

You could tell that Belinelli isn't used to playing as many minutes as he did in Game 3 (43 minutes), as his defense became extremely lazy in the fourth quarter.

Without bench depth, the Bulls will ask more and more of Belinelli, and if he can't produce in the clutch, like he couldn't in Game 3, the Bulls' odds of beating the Heat are going to take a serious hit.

In spite of that, his 16 points, six assists and three rebounds made up a solid stat line that helped the Bulls stay competitive throughout the majority of the game. 

Overall Grade: B

Small Forwards

LeBron James, SF, Heat

If you told me that LeBron James would have eight points in the first half, with the Heat leading after two quarters, I would've laughed at you.

Well, with just eight points on 2-of-6 shooting, that was the case, and he made up for his low production with four assists and three rebounds.

It wasn't until the fourth quarter that LeBron stepped his game up, but it came at just the right time for the Heat. 

With 12 of his 25 points coming in the fourth quarter, LeBron took over at the right time, which included a dagger three-pointer just seconds after Marco Belinelli had sunk a three ball to bring the Bulls back within four points.

Aside from his 6-of-17 shooting performance, LeBron had a well-balanced night with 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and he shot a perfect 11-of-11 from the charity stripe. 

Overall Grade: B+

Jimmy Butler, SF, Bulls

Jimmy Butler's defensive effort on LeBron was solid throughout the first 38 minutes of the game. But then LeBron decided to take over, and there wasn't anything Butler could do to stop him.

Offensively speaking, Butler had a great night with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor and 2-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc. He also grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the Bulls, and his inability to defend LeBron for a complete 48 minutes cost the Bulls late.

You can't blame Butler, though, because without any depth on the bench, Butler played a ton of minutes against the NBA's best player—and he did an admirable job.

Overall Grade: B

Power Forwards

Udonis Haslem, PF, Heat

There's not much to say about Udonis Haslem's space-filler role in Game 3. 

He played just 17 minutes and scored four points on 2-of-3 shooting.

Haslem didn't play much because the Heat didn't need him to, but while he was on the floor, his defense had an impact on the game.

Overall Grade: C+

Carlos Boozer, PF, Bulls

After averaging just seven points per game in the first two games of the series, Carlos Boozer surpassed that in the first 24 minutes, with 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the first half. 

Boozer was the most consistent offensive option for the Bulls, bailing them out of late shot clocks a number of times.

He ended Game 3 with 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting, but he failed to do much else for the Bulls, and that was a major difference maker. 

Late in the game, his defense was lazy, especially bringing help-side defense into the paint against guys like Norris Cole and LeBron James, and that helped the Heat pull away late. 

The Bulls need a more complete performance from Boozer if they are going to sink the Heat, but in Game 3, he gave them the offense they were looking for, just not much more.

Overall Grade: B

Centers

Chris Bosh, C, Heat

The Heat have to be wondering, "Where was this rebounding version of Chris Bosh all season?" 

With 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting and 19 rebounds, Bosh had one of the most productive playoff games in his career. 

Bosh grabbed an impressive first-half double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds—yes, 10 rebounds for the same player who got out-rebounded by LeBron James during the regular season. 

He continued his impressive performance throughout the second half, ending the night with 20 points and 19 rebounds (five offensive). 

I never would've thought Bosh could grab 19 rebounds with Joakim Noah in the paint, but Bosh stepped up for the Heat right when they needed him to. 

Defensively speaking, Bosh was also aggressive and productive, with two blocked shots and a steal. There's no doubt that Bosh was the X-factor for the Heat, especially when they were struggling to find production in the first three quarters.

Overall Grade: A

Joakim Noah, C, Bulls

After getting a technical in the first quarter for shoving Chris Andersen, Joakim Noah calmed down and finished the first half strong, with eight points and six rebounds (five offensive).

Foul trouble held Noah back, as he sat for nearly six minutes in the fourth quarter when the Heat were building their lead. 

With 15 points, 11 rebounds (seven offensive), four assists, two steals and two blocks, it's clear Noah had a very productive game. It's just shocking that he couldn't keep Bosh off the boards more than he did.

As the series moves forward, Noah needs to focus more on the game and less on arguing calls or a lack of them as he runs down the court.

Overall Grade: B 

Sixth Men

Ray Allen, SG, Heat

Ray Allen certainly didn't get the memo that Game 3 was being played on Friday night. 

He ended the night with just four points on 1-of-6 shooting from the floor and 0-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. 

Allen got outplayed by everyone coming off the Heat's bench, including Norris Cole, who dropped 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Let's not forget the free throw that the usually unflappable Allen missed in the final minute of Game 3.

Rough night for Allen, but luckily, the rest of the Heat's bench stepped up and carried the Heat.

Overall Grade: F

Taj Gibson, PF, Bulls 

Six points on 1-of-9 shooting wasn't what the Bulls needed from Taj Gibson, especially after Nazr Mohammed got ejected. But that's what he gave them

While Gibson grabbed five rebounds (two offensive) and blocked a shot, his impact was minimized by the physicality the Heat brought on the defensive side of the ball.

Aside from the energy and emotion Gibson brought off the bench, he was rather silent, and that played a major role in the Bulls' Game 3 defeat.

Overall Grade: D

Benches

Miami Heat Bench

Say hello to the spotlight, Norris Cole. On a night when the Heat needed production from every spot, Cole stepped up with 18 impressive points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.

Cole owned the first half, with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 shooting from beyond the arc. He also didn't commit a single turnover in the first half.

With the Big Three combining for just 20 of the Heat's 52 points in the first half, they needed someone to step up, and Cole did just that. 

If you take out Ray Allen's awful 1-of-6 shooting night, the Heat's bench was an efficiently productive unit with 32 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field. Just imagine how good the Heat can be if Allen actually shows up off the bench.

Overall Grade: A

Chicago Bulls Bench 

What Chicago Bulls bench?

The Bulls' second unit accounted for just eight points on 3-of-10 shooting. While that's a testament to their lack of depth due to injuries and illness, it still shows how unproductive they were.

Most shocking was the lack of offense from Taj Gibson, who scored six points on 1-of-9 shooting. 

With Nazr Mohammed getting ejected for shoving LeBron James like Game 3 was a UFC match, the Bulls needed production, and no one from their bench gave them that.

Overall Grade: F