Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat: Live Score, Highlights and Reaction

The Miami Heat exploded in the second half for 66 points to hold off a feisty, injury-ravaged Chicago Bulls squad en route to a 106-98 victory Thursday night. With the loss, the Bulls are now mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

Miami used a balanced offensive attack (seven players scored between 10 and 21 points) to pummel Chicago after the intermission. Without the likes of Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah, the Bulls simply didn't have the interior defense to stop the Heat from scoring in the paint. Dwyane Wade took full advantage, scoring 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting.

Chicago played hard without several of its rotation players, especially in the first half as the squad raced out to a 46-40 lead at the break. But a lack of manpower and depth definitely plagued the Bulls when the Heat turned up the pace in the second half.

The 39-40 Bulls' attention is now on the offseason, but they'll be back in action Saturday night versus Cleveland. The 46-32 Heat, meanwhile, helped themselves in the Eastern Conference standings and next face the Orlando Magic Friday night.