Same old story: Bulls left battered, broken by Heat in blowout loss
When we left off last season, the Bulls were getting bullied and bruised by Miami in a play-in game.
Nothing changed when the Heat returned to the United Center on Friday. Miami left the Bulls needing some ice packs after a 143-107 thumping.
Matas Buzelis (ankle), Isaac Okoro (back) and Dalen Terry (calf) all left the game with injuries, although Buzelis came back and played again after initially being helped off the court early in the third quarter.
Adding to the misery, Kevin Huerter was ejected for hitting a referee with the ball, though the play was more comical than malicious.
Ultimately, the ejection and injuries made no difference. Miami pulled away in the second quarter by beating the Bulls both on the glass and at the free-throw line. The Heat won the second-chance points 26-12 and outscored the Bulls 35-21 at the foul line. Ayo Dosunmu led the Bulls with 23 points.
“We've got to start to be the aggressor,” Josh Giddey said after producing 19 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. “Teams are starting to realize they can punish us on the offensive boards, they're starting to run through us.
“It's got to come to a point as a team where we make a stand. We be the aggressors, we start running through people, we start crashing, we start boxing out — things like that.”
This performance was also a continuation of the fourth quarter in Portland on Wednesday, when 7-foot center Donovan Clingan dominated the glass, allowing the Blazers to erase a 21-point deficit.
The Bulls were saved by Nikola Vucevic's game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in Portland, but that plan doesn't work when a team is trailing by 30 at the end.
Miami started a big front line, with both Bam Adebayo and Kel'el Ware, which exposed one of the Bulls' obvious weaknesses — there's just not enough height or strength on their front line. Buzelis might have the ability to guard power forwards someday, but needs to spend a few years in the weight room first.
Still, the Bulls (8-7) have beaten some good teams. It doesn't have to be like this.
“NBA players are too talented to be bad at the small things and we have been in the last probably two or three games,” Giddey said. “We've given up tons of offensive rebounds. Guys are just driving downhill, personnel's getting thrown out the window.
“We've got to be better in that area, and that's everybody. It's a good thing we have another game in 24 hours, we get another shot tomorrow (against Washington). We'll see how we respond.”
Huerter was whistled for a shooting foul with 8:18 left in the third quarter and when the ball bounced off the rim, he batted it in disgust. The problem was, he batted it in the direction of referee Che Flores, who was facing the scorers' table signaling the foul.
The slowly bouncing ball struck Flores in the back of the legs. It didn't seem like much, but referee Tony Brothers saw everything and immediately ejected the Bulls' shooting guard. After video review the call was upheld, because technically, Huerter did hit the official with the ball.
“I was frustrated at the call, but again, I apologize if that was too much. Obviously it was,” Huerter said in the locker room, wearing a Connor Bedard jersey. “I was not meaning to throw the ball at the official.”
That incident capped a rough three minutes for the Bulls. Just before Huerter's ejection, both Buzelis and Okoro limped into the locker room.
The Bulls decided to sit Coby White and save him for Saturday's game against Washington. According to coach Billy Donovan, the idea was to give White two days of rest between games. He made his second appearance of the season Wednesday after recovering from a right calf strain.
“Coby has kept himself in as good a shape as you can keep yourself in,” Donovan said before the game. “I think the one thing we've got to be conscientious of — this is not me; this is just talking to medical — he has not really had a legitimate ramp up. Guys came back early in September, (he had) no part of that, no training camp.”