Miami Heat Struggles vs. Chicago Bulls Have Had Common Themes

The Miami Heat have come up short in each of the last three months when facing the Chicago Bulls. As a result, they’ll open the postseason at the United Center as the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference play-in round. 

In order to play one more game beyond Wednesday’s 9-10 matchup, the Heat must find a way to secure a different result. Erik Spoelstra has won head-to-head matchups in play-ins against Billy Donovan in each of the past two years, but is just 13-16 against his coaching counterpart after his Heat has suffered three losses to the Bulls in a 70-day span. 

An inability to hold leads or get a handle on Bulls star Josh Giddey has hindered Miami, and if you don’t study history, you’re doomed to repeat it. Spoelstra will be reminding his team of how they’ve come up short, so we’ll do the same here. Below is a snapshot at how the meetings between these teams unfolded:

Feb. 4 – Bulls won 133-124 at United Center

Miami had a couple of days to prepare for this game after opening February with a win in San Antonio but fell despite a 70-point first half and a 12-point lead with just over 10 minutes remaining. Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis shot 10-for-10 to share top scoring honors with Giddey (24 points). 

Ayo Dosunmu and Lonzo Ball, each out for the year, were in Chicago’s starting five. Miami was two days away from moving Jimmy Butler, who was banished from the team, so its bench consisted of the currently injured Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Terry Rozier and Alec Burks. Only Burks is expected to see extensive action in this play-in game.The teams combined to hit 36 3-pointers, firing up 85. 

March 8 – Bulls won 114-109 at Kaseya Center

This marked the third loss during the Heat’s 10-game skid last month, but was the first game they were favored in. After strong performances against the Cavs and Timberwolves, Miami was expected to handle Chicago at home, led 36-24 after a quarter and entered the fourth up 89-78. The Heat again fell apart in the fourth, lost the rebounding battle and were caught from behind despite the Bulls shooting 13-for-43 from 3-point range.

Andrew Wiggins led Miami with 22 points, but Kyle Anderson was still catching DNPs from Spoelstra and Rozier remained a key reserve, scoring 15 points and hitting five 3-pointers. Giddey finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, while Zach Collins added 18 points and 15 rebounds. Nikola Vucevic sat, but the Bulls did have their trade deadline acquisitions, Tre Jones and Kevin Huerter. Jones had a huge steal and bucket in the final minute, while Giddey knocked down a huge 3-pointer late to help seal the comeback win.

April 9 –  Bulls won 119-111 at United Center

In a game Miami needed to give itself a chance to claw out of the No. 10 seed, it again led after a quarter but were terrorized by Giddey, who finished with 28 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists. Vucevic also shined with 20 points, 11 boards and eight assists, while Huerter added 22 points and seven assists. Coby White missed all five of his 3-point attempts but picked it up in the fourth quarter and finished with 18 points. Buzelis added 17, so all five Chicago starters scored in double-figures. 

Wiggins returned from a lengthy absence due to hamstring issues for the Heat and played well, but wasn’t as explosive as he had been before his injury. Adebayo shot just 6-for-15 and will need to be better. Tyler Herro scored 30 points but was criticized for pulling up for a 3-pointer instead of taking a wide open layup following a steal with Miami down five in the game’s final minute. Davion Mitchell was the Heat’s best player, finishing with 17 points, eight assists and four steals.

Tony Mejia is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at [email protected]