Nikola Vucevic, Bulls overpower banged-up Heat

[December 21, 2022] Nikola Vucevic scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the visiting Chicago Bulls ended a four-game losing streak with a 113-103 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.

DeMar DeRozan scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half, and Zach LaVine added 21 points and seven assists for the Bulls, who took a 2-0 lead in the season series with the Heat.

Miami, which had its four-game winning streak snapped, has lost three of its past four home contests. All three of those defeats have been to teams with losing records.

The Heat were led by Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. Adebayo made 12 of 15 shots from the floor to finish with 27 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Herro, after a poor start, finished with 19 points and seven assists.

Miami played without three starters: point guard Kyle Lowry (knee) and forwards Jimmy Butler (illness) and Caleb Martin (ankle).

Due to those absences, Victor Oladipo started his first game of the season for Miami and Haywood Highsmith started his second. Highsmith scored a career-high 18 points, and Oladipo had 14.

There were six lead changes in the first five minutes, but Chicago pulled away to secure a 31-21 first-quarter lead. Chicago shot 55 percent in the first, and Miami shot just 36.4 percent.

Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan (11) attempts to dunk the basketball over Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith (24) during the second quarter at FTX Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

The Bulls, though, went scoreless for nearly four minutes to open the second quarter. Miami closed the first half with a 9-4 run, taking a 57-52 lead into intermission.

Herro, after his frigid 0-for-4 first quarter, went 4-for-4 in the second. He led all second-quarter scorers with 11 points. Miami shot 63.6 percent in the second quarter, including 46.2 percent (6 of 13) on 3-pointers.

However, Chicago dominated the third quarter, outscoring Miami 36-20 to take an 88-77 lead into the fourth. Chicago got 11 points from Vucevic and 10 from DeRozan in the period.

The Bulls never trailed in the fourth.

For the game, Chicago shot 54.8 percent, while Miami shot 46.9 percent.

--Field Level Media

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