Heat pull away from reeling Bulls, 108-95

Teams that are down on their luck in the NBA are more likely to be kicked in the teeth than helped to their feet.

The Bulls had to deal with that reality in Miami on Friday. They took the court without their three best players, played the second leg of back-to-back games against a rested Heat squad and still managed to make a game of it. But Miami pulled away late to win 108-95, handing the Bulls their seventh straight loss.

Once again, the Bulls (31-34) found themselves on the losing end of a physical game. On Thursday in Orlando, guard Derrick Rose suffered a sprained left wrist after a hard foul by Magic center Dwight Howard.

With 4:58 left in Friday's contest, Brad Miller tried to block a Dwyane Wade drive to the basket and was whistled for a flagrant foul. Miller and Kirk Hinrich proceeded to collect 3 technical fouls for arguing the call, with Hinrich getting ejected. Coach Vinny Del Negro also got a technical earlier in the game.

"I was just standing there with my dang arm up and he comes like he always does and I just don't fall down," Miller said. "You get a flagrant for taking a hit, and that's the joy of certain people against certain people. - They were trying to be tough guys, and we get to see them again (on March 25 at the United Center)."

After the flurry of free throws, Miami increased its lead from 12 to 18 points. The Heat outscored the Bulls 24-12 at the foul line and drained an uncanny 12 of 21 shots from 3-point range.

Rose missed a game for the first time this season, sitting on the bench with his left wrist in a brace. The Bulls now have three days off, so there's a good chance Rose will return Tuesday when the Bulls visit his college home to face the Memphis Grizzlies.

Before the contest, Rose compared the shot he took from the 6-foot-11, 265-pound Howard to being in a car accident.

"Right when it happened, I was just thinking, 'Not again,'" Rose said, according to ESPN.com. "Right when I get hit I had a crick in my neck, everything. So it was like I was in a car accident or something.

"When you run into a guy like that, he's definitely going to hurt you like that. Somehow, I've just got to brace myself going in there."

Rose had an MRI exam Friday morning, which showed nothing more than a bruise.

"I'm just trying to fight through it," he added. "It hurts, to tell you the truth. I really didn't have any wrist injuries. They definitely hurt. (Thursday) night, I was having problems just sleeping on it."

Also missing for the Bulls on Friday was forward Luol Deng, who skipped his second game with a right calf sprain. There's a good chance he'll miss a few more dates. Center Joakim Noah continues to sit with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

The Bulls' starting lineup included rookie James Johnson at small forward and Jannero Pargo at guard. Both players scored 20 points, with Johnson hitting 8 of 11 shots from the field.

The game was tied at 53-53 early in the third quarter when the Bulls started settling for too many long-range shots and Miami pulled away. The Bulls went 0-for-9 from 3-point range to open the second half but were within 84-77 after Johnson knocked down a corner 3.

Quentin Richardson answered with a 3-pointer for the Heat and the flagrant foul basically sealed the outcome for the Bulls less than a minute later.

The Bulls did a decent job guarding Wade (7-for-16, 22 points, 6 turnovers) for most of the night but might have focused on him too much. Jermaine O'Neal took advantage of the double-teams to score 25 points, while Richardson and Mario Chalmers combined to hit 12 of 17 shots from 3-point range.

<p class="factboxheadblack">Mike McGraw's game tracker</p>

<p class="News">Heat 108, Bulls 95</p>

<p class="News"><b>Parts missing in Miami:</b> The main characters in this story were the ones who didn't play. The Bulls battled for the most part, but playing without Derrick Rose (left wrist sprain), Luol Deng (right calf strain) and Joakim Noah (sore left foot) was too much to overcome.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Anger boils over:</b> With 4:58 left in the fourth quarter, Brad Miller was called for a flagrant foul against Dwyane Wade, then Miller and Kirk Hinrich collected 3 technical fouls complaining about the call. It's easy to understand the source of their frustration, but Miami built a 12-point lead to 18 after the flurry of free throws.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Johnson moves in:</b> One bright spot Friday was rookie James Johnson producing a career-high 20 points while hitting 8 of 11 shots from the field.</p>