The Miami Heat traveled to Chicago to take on Zach Lavine and the red-hot Chicago Bulls Saturday night. Chicago is arguably the hottest team in the league right now being captained by DeMar DeRozan and an MVP-type season so far. Of course, Jimmy Butler and the gritty Miami Heat don’t back down from any sort of challenge. Jimmy was out for blood in this one after having his homecoming in Minnesota spoiled by Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves.
Rather than one standout star in this one, the Miami Heat played as a unit and got it done as a team. Veteran leaders Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler were the catalysts in this one, being the spark in the offensive end and being the captains on defense as well. Butler looked to involve everyone on the court, which included Gabe Vincent and a dominant performance off the bench. Vincent dropped 20 points in 6/11 shooting from the field and hit his threes at a 50% clip. Vincent was the spark the second unit needed with Tyler Herro out due to body soreness. Vincent stepped up in a big way for the Heat in a crucial game that will come back to help them come playoff time.
On the opposition, superstar DeMar DeRozan lit up the Heat with 28 points on 11/19 shooting while securing seven rebounds as well. DeRozan was hard to contain all night as this game came down to the wire. The Bulls had been down in the first half due to a great team performance by the Heat but they crawled their way back into the game. Alex Caruso’s 22 points off the bench was almost the deciding factor in this one but wasn’t quite enough for the hard-nosed gritty Heat team. The Heat pulled away in the fourth with great team play and veteran leadership at the helm.
Next Up
The Heat look to build off this win as they travel to Denver to take on Nikola Jokic and the struggling Nuggets on Monday night.
(Featured image by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)