Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Holding on
Heat overcome shaky finish to hold off the Bulls
Heat 103, Bulls 96: Josh Richardson scored 27 points as the Heat edged the Bulls.
CHICAGO — The 2018-19 model of the Miami Heat comes without cruise control.
So that 26-point lead in the second quarter? Down to four in the fourth.
Still, it could have been worse, it could have been a loss to the Chicago Bulls added to those already to the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets.
So despite needing Josh Richardson to play as go-to scorer in the fourth quarter as part of his 27-point effort, the Heat still got what they needed most, a 103-96 victory Friday night at the United Center.
With the league-leading Toronto Raptors up next Sunday on the back end of this two-game trip, it didn’t matter how it was achieved as much that 7-11 feels better than what could have been the alternative as the Bulls were storming back in the second half.
Center Hassan Whiteside added 18 points and 10 rebounds, with Dwyane Wade scoring 10 in his hometown return.
Justin Holiday scored 27 for the Bulls, with Zach LaVine adding 24.
Five degrees of Heat from Friday’s game:
1. Back at it: Less than 90 minutes before the opening tip, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said it was too early to expect James Johnson to play starter’s minutes in just his third game back from May surgery for a sports hernia.
“I’m going to fast track him as fast as possible,” he said outside the Heat locker room, “but not to the point of getting him 30 minutes.”
Less than 90 minutes later, Johnson was in the starting lineup, a game after Spoelstra had started Derrick Jones Jr. at power forward and a stretch prior when Justise Winslow held that role.
Johnson played 26 minutes, closing 1 of 8 from the field for three points, with five assists.
Spoelstra noted earlier in the day, “We’re 6-11, everything has to be on the table.”
Although he struggled to score, Johnson’s playmaking eased the flow of an offense lacking sidelined point guard Goran Dragic.
Spoelstra also got back to a more typical rotation, with Kelly Olynyk back in the mix after being held out of Tuesday’s loss to the visiting Brooklyn Nets due to “Coach’s Decision.”
However, Spoelstra also noted, with the Heat also lacking Tyler Johnson, “we have guys out and when those guys come back then there’s a domino effect.”
2. Homecoming: Wade received a warm ovation upon entering in the first quarter as the Heat’s first reserve off the bench.
Wade, somewhat oddly, arrived to the United Center in the No. 3 Bulls jersey he wore during the 2016-17 season.
The loudest greeting of the night, however, came not for hometown Wade but for Chicago Bears defensive force Khalil Mack.
Wade finished 5 of 10 from the field, with four rebounds.
3. Zach attack: LaVine continued his stout start to the season, helping rally Chicago from their 26-point deficit to within seven in the third quarter.
LaVine was the Bulls’ prize from last season’s trade of Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“He’s a heck of a talent,” Spoelstra said. “He was showing glimpses of that in Minnesota before he got hurt. He’s healthy. You can tell he must work on his game because he’s really grown. He’s really emerged obviously this year.”
Said Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg, “Zach’s been awesome for us. He’s been a guy that for the first time in his career has really been the go-to guy. He’s demanding a lot of attention. He’s made some big plays for us in the fourth quarter, kept us in games, got us over the hump.”
4. Pushing past: It would have been easy for Whiteside to get down on himself after putting up a pair of air balls on free throws in the second quarter, going 2 of 7 from the line over the first 24 minutes.
To his credit, he stayed with it, providing an unstoppable presence at the rim and on alley oops, converting all six of his firsthalf shots.
Included in his early conversions was a volleyball-style alley-oop tip-in during the second quarter.
The Heat also got a forceful display from backup center Bam Adebayo, who got his first double-double of the season. 5. Easy come, easy . . .: Victimized by lopsided quarters in recent losses, the Heat this time turned the tables, outscoring the Bulls 32-13 in the second period, opening a 26-point lead on the way to a 60-39 halftime lead.
The Heat limited the Bulls to 2-of-19 shooting in the second quarter, forcing nine turnovers over the 12 minutes.
And then? And then the Bulls outscored the Heat 30-18 in the third quarter.
Asked pregame the one element he viewed most as missing, Spoelstra said, “consistency.”