Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Bulled over
Hassan Whiteside’s double-double helps Miami win 97-91.
MIAMI — Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said his goal for Wednesday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls was a complete performance.
Ultimately, after blowing a 15-point lead, it again came down to survival, which the Heat achieved. Barely.
Against an opponent coming off a 32-point loss, not even the return of center Hassan Whiteside could significantly ease the burden, with the Heat having to fight to almost the end before finishing off the Chicago Bulls 97-91 at AmericanAirlines Arena.
“It was good to finally get a result after the work the guys have been putting in,” Spoelstra said as his team improved to 3-4 and the Bulls fell to 1-5. “I liked all the emotions that these guys had to go through.”
In need of something big to shake themselves out of their doldrums — and the three-game losing streak they carried into the night — the Heat actually got that, with Whiteside back after a five-game absence.
Whiteside, who was fatigued after dominant play at the outset, closed with 13 points and 14 rebounds in 26 minutes, after Spoelstra stressed going in that he was going to monitor the minutes of his big man.
“I thought his first seven minutes were outstanding. His rebounds, he was grabbing those 12 feet off the floor,” Spoelstra said. “And then I think he hit the wall after that, so I probably should have managed that a little better.”
It wasn’t until Tyler Johnson drained a 3-pointer at the midpoint of the fourth quarter that the Heat again opened breathing
“It was good to finally get a result after the work the guys have been putting in.” Coach Erik Spoelstra
room, moving to a 10-point lead.
“That’s the energy and the karma of the game,” Spoelstra said. “Tyler is one of those guys that wants to play so well for the team.”
And even then there was work to do, with Spoelstra deciding by that stage that Whiteside’s night was over.
The Bulls closed to within 89-82 with 59 seconds to play on a Justin Holiday 3-pointer.
Guard Goran Dragic led the Heat with 20 points, supported by 19 from Johnson.
“He just finds a way, it’s uncanny,” Spoelstra said of Dragic.
Rookie forward Lauri Markkanen led the Bulls with 25 points, supported by 22 from center Robin Lopez.
The Heat wound up with more of a lineup change than just the return of Whiteside, who had missed the previous five games with a bone bruise on his left knee, an injury sustained during the Oct. 18 season opener against the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center.
Shortly before tipoff the Heat announced that starting power forward James Johnson had tendinitis in his right knee and would be in uniform, but available only for emergency duty.
“My level of concern isn’t high. This is something we’re trying to be proactive [about],” Spoelstra said.
Rather than return Kelly Olynyk to the starting lineup, which was the case alongside Whiteside in the opener, Spoelstra instead opted to start Okaro White at power forward.
The Heat’s starting lineup was rounded out by Josh Richardson, Dion Waiters and Dragic, who had missed Tuesday’s practice with the illness that previously had struck Tyler Johnson, James Johnson, Wayne Ellington and A.J. Hammons.
The Bulls were also shorthanded, with Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis both out from their training-camp melee — Mirotic due to a concussion and maxillary fractures, Portis due to his ongoing team suspension. The Bulls have yet to have Zach LaVine in uniform.
With Whiteside back, first-round pick Bam Adebayo, who had started the three previous games, did not see his first action until 1:05 remained in the third period, after Olynyk was called for his fifth foul.
Adebayo wound up providing a needed late spark.
“Bam gave us some tremendous minutes,” Spoelstra said.
The Heat fell behind in the third but were able to take a 67-64 lead into the fourth, sparked by seven third-quarter points from Tyler Johnson.
The Heat pushed to a 15-point second-period lead, only to see the Bulls tie it late in the quarter. The Heat then went into the intermission up only 49-47, despite 11 points and 12 rebounds over the opening two periods by Whiteside.
With the Bulls opening 2 of 14 from the field and Whiteside with 7 points and 9 rebounds in his opening 10-minute stint, the Heat moved to a 27-17 lead at the end of the first period. Whiteside converted a 3-pointer during that first quarter to move to 2 for 2 on the season and his career, having made one in the season opener.
The game concluded a season-longest six-game homestand, with the Heat next off to their seasonlongest six-game trip, which opens Friday against the Denver Nuggets.