Five degrees of Heat from Saturday’s victory in Chicago,
CHICAGO — Dwyane Wade began the night at the United Center by insisting that there yet could be better days ahead for the Chicago Bulls.
He then went out and did his best to make sure this wouldn’t be one of those days, with the Miami Heat handing the Bulls their 10th consecutive loss, 117-103 Saturday night.
Down by nine in the first half, the Heat maximized the return of Josh Richardson and made Wade’s final career game in his hometown a successful one as they got back to .500 at 22-22.
Richardson, who missed Friday night’s loss to the Detroit Pistons due to illness, returned with 26 points, draining four 3-pointers. Wade, cheered throughout the night, offered a 14-point, 10-rebound bench boost, receiving a standing ovation upon checking out with two minutes to play.
Those efforts were needed, with Lauri Markkanen pacing the Bulls with 20 points and nine rebounds.
Dion Waiters added 21 points off the bench for the Heat.
Going in, Wade said of the Bulls, “They’re trying to get it right. And you don’t know if you’ve got it right until you’ve got it right.”
The Heat went into the fourth quarter up 83-76 and this time, unlike in Detroit, extended their lead.
Five degrees of Heat from Saturday’s game:
1. Wade’s way: Wade was asked before the game to reflect on his Chicago basketball lineage.
“When people have asked me who I think the best player who was born and raised in Chicago, I always go with Isiah Thomas,” he said of the iconic Pistons guard.
But he said Chicago basketball is about more than himself and Thomas.
“So many players who have come through this city that I love to watch and respect,” he said, “because I know how we grew up and how we had to learn to fend for ourselves and what it took to become successful.”
Among those also mentioned by Wade were Derrick Rose and former Heat guard Quentin Richardson.
The Bulls honored Wade with a video during the game’s first timeout, one that centered on his 2016-17 season in Chicago, with a standing ovation following.
Wade’s wife, actress Gabrielle Union, watched from courtside, across from the Heat bench.
2. Waiters attacks: Off with his outside shot upon entering for the first time at the start of the third quarter, Waiters then moved into attack mode and wound up with a 13-point second quarter that included six rebounds.
Waiters entered as the third guard off the bench, after Wade and Tyler Johnson.
While Waiters picked up three fouls in his 11:39 of action in that second quarter, it was product of playing in attack mode, an element the Heat all too often had lacked in Waiters’ absence because of injury.
3. Richardson returns: Richardson was back in the starting lineup and back on his game, with 20 points by the end of the third period.
Richardson converted his first three shots of the second half, to help push the Heat to an eightpoint lead.
His return shuffled Tyler Johnson back to the bench and Derrick Jones Jr. to the back end of a rotation that again went 11 deep, with Wayne Ellington and Udonis Haslem the outsiders.
Still, the Heat again got off to an uneven start, this time with the opening lineup of Richardson, James Johnson, Justise Winslow, Rodney McGruder and Hassan Whiteside, playing from behind for the second consecutive night.
4. Kelly no: An uneven season continues for Kelly Olynyk, who this time did not even get up a shot in his first-half stint, playing his 4:15 with a single point.
That left Whiteside and Bam Adebayo as the big men of choice in this one and Olynyk outside of the rotation in the second half.
5. Cold reality: Initially scheduled to remain overnight in Chicago, the Heat instead attempted to beat the weather with a latenight flight to Boston in advance of Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day game against the Celtics.
Unlike with Chicago, it will not be career finale for Wade in Boston, with the Heat also scheduled for an April 1 game in Boston, as well as a potential firstround playoff series.