Chicago Bulls Defeat Miami Heat 93-89, Continue Domination of Elite Teams
The Chicago Bulls overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to beat the Miami Heat 93-89 on the strength of a dominant third quarter, the play of MVP candidate Derrick Rose, a tremendous second half by Luol Deng and a 20-point advantage in bench scoring.
It was the Bulls' second win this season against the Heat, and marked a continued pattern for both teams.
The Bulls continue to beat the top teams in the league, while the Heat continue to lose to them. Chicago has now won its last nine games against the NBA's top ten teams, while Miami dropped to 0-7 against the top five.
The Heat built a first-half lead on 20 fast-break points, but the Bulls established their defense in the second half and particularly contained the Heat in the third quarter, outscoring Miami 27-14 in the frame.
Offensively, Chicago was energized by Luol Deng and Derrick Rose in that key third quarter, as the pair combined for 22 of the Bulls' 27 points; 12 from Rose and 10 from Deng. Deng made several significant plays, including a steal followed by a breakaway and a spectacular off-hand tip in.
Rose scored 26 points to go with six assists and five rebounds. Deng scored 20 points, and had 10 boards and five assists.
Certainly, no one can fault LeBron James or Dwyane Wade for the loss, as the two combined for 63 of the Heat's 89 points. Mario Chalmers pitched in 12 of his own.
The rest of Miami's team had only 14 combined points, including Chris Bosh, who scored only seven points and made only one of 18 shots. This was in large part due to the combined defensive efforts of the Chicago big men, Joakim Noah and Omer Asik.
Even Carlos Boozer had a respectable defensive performance in the game.
Both teams now face tough stretches in their schedule. While the Heat will have one game at home against the Wizards tomorrow night, after that they enter a stretch of 10 consecutive games against winning teams, including another game against the Bulls on March 4 in Miami.
Chicago will go on a five-game road trip that concludes with consecutive games in Atlanta, Orlando and Miami. While the Bulls have the league's second-best home record, they've struggled more on the road and are only .500 in away games. The road trip is an opportunity to establish themselves as a winning road team.
