CHICAGO, March 6 (Ticker) -- The Miami Heat have come a long way since their last visit to Chicago.

Rod Strickland scored a season-high 23 points as the Heat moved closer to the eighth playoff spot with an 92-87 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Strickland shot 8-of-11 from the field to lead all five starters in double figures for Miami's fourth consecutive win, its longest streak since a six-game run from January 14-22.

"I just tried to be aggressive tonight," Strickland said. "There were a lot of gaps out there and that's when I took it to the basket."

NBA TV highlights from Heat-Bulls: 56k | 300k Rod Strickland and the Heat have completely turned things around this season.

"It was a hard-fought game," Miami coach Pat Riley said. Without Rod, we don't win that game. He was obviously the catalyst for us, driving to the basket, breaking the zone and hitting his outside shots."

When the Heat were here on November 29, they lost, 78-72. That was the 10th defeat of Miami's 12-game losing streak. Miami's poor start extended through December 30, when it was 5-23 after a loss at Detroit.

But the next night, the Heat defeated Indiana, starting a 22-9 run that is the best record in the Eastern Conference during that span.

The victory moved the Heat two games behind the idle Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards for the Eastern Conference's eighth and final playoff spot.

"Effort and overall collective resolve and getting accustomed to each other," Miami center Alonzo Mourning said of the turnaround. "We didn't have the benefit of being together in training camp. Our training camp was the first couple of weeks in the season. We struggled, we were learning each other and we were losing close games.

"It's not about the standings. It's about what we do on the court night in and night out. At the end of the season, we look up and say, `We got in and now let's make some noise.' That's what we're capable of doing."

Miami seemed to put away this one with a dominating third quarter that pushed its one-point halftime lead to 67-53. The Heat outscored the Bulls 21-5 over the first eight minutes of the period, while holding Chicago to 24 percent (5-of-21) from the floor.

In the third period, Miami got started quickly by making nine of its first 12 shots, while Chicago missed seven jumpers and five layups in a span of nearly seven minutes.

The Bulls finally snapped their cold shooting on jumper by Jalen Rose with 3:56 left, which made it 63-49.

Led by Rose, Chicago made things interesting. Rose had 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and made it 84-82 on a layup with 1:12 left. Rose had stolen the ball from Strickland and the crowd of 17,054 at the United Center rose to its feet.

In the fourth period, the Bulls shot 68 percent (13-of-19). But their poor showing in the third quarter was the difference in their third consecutive loss.

Miami countered with a hook shot by Mourning to make it 86-82 with 55 seconds to play. Mourning scored 18 points, making10-of-16 free throws.

On Chicago's next two possessions, Rose missed an easy layup and Mourning blocked Marcus Fizer's jumper.

After Mourning's block, he and Kendall Gill combined to make three foul shots and Strickland hit a reverse layup for the final margin as the Heat averted a complete meltdown.

"Except for the lull in the third quarter, I was pleased with our guys," Bulls coach Bill Cartwright said. "We came out after last night's game and competed. We gave ourselves an opportunity to win that game.

"When you play good teams and get down to them, it is tough to fight back. I thought our guys were terrific. We got a contribution from pretty much everyone who played."