Rookie Matas Buzelis scored a career-best 24 points on 10-for-10 shooting and Josh Giddey added 24 points to lift the host Chicago Bulls to a 133-124 win against the Miami Heat on Tuesday.
Ayo Dosunmu tallied 21 points and nine assists and Coby White had 22 points for Chicago, which outscored Miami 39-21 in the fourth quarter.
Tyler Herro had 23 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Heat, while Bam Adebayo contributed 23 points and eight boards. Kel’el Ware notched a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Nikola Jovic scored 20 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. chipped in 14.
Giddey’s personal 5-0 run tied the game at 114 with 6:17 remaining. Miami temporarily regained control before the Bulls closed the game on a 19-6 run. White’s dunk with 2:21 left gave Chicago a five-point lead, and the Bulls led by nine down the stretch while closing the game from the free-throw line.
Chicago shot 52.7 percent and drilled 19 3-pointers in its first game since Sunday’s three-team deal that sent leading scorer Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings. None of the three players Chicago acquired were in action.
Miami shot 47.8 percent and consistently created distance through the first three quarters with a solid long-range game. The Heat shot 17-for-44 from deep, including a Jovic trey that capped a 7-0 run to close the third quarter after the Bulls pulled within two points.
Nikola Vucevic scored each of his 12 points after halftime for the Bulls while completing a double-double with 10 rebounds. Patrick Williams scored 10 points.
Miami led 70-60 lead at halftime. The Heat raced to a 12-2 lead after just 2:42, punctuating the early run with a Ware alley-oop dunk off a feed from Adebayo.
Miami led by 13 before the break, capitalizing on early struggles from Bulls starters Nikola Vucevic and Lonzo Ball. The duo was a combined 1-for-12 from the floor in the first half, with Vucevic held scoreless with three rebounds.
Chicago has won six of the past eight in the series. The Heat’s Jimmy Butler remained suspended for conduct detrimental to the team.
–Field Level Media
