CHICAGO BULLS 77, MIAMI HEAT 66

Wednesday’s final game between Chicago and Miami in the 2007 Pepsi Pro Summer League went to Chicago, who posted a 77-66 victory at the RDV Sportsplex in Orlando, Fla. The Bulls are now 2-1 on the week, while Miami drops to 1-2.

Chicago jumped out to an early 6-1 lead fueled by the play of guard Thabo Sefolosha. Sefolosha and Miami guard Daequan Cook, who was drafted by Miami this June, were matched up and it proved to be an interesting one throughout the night. Bulls center Aaron Gray, who registered an impressive double-double the night before, picked up right where he left off, making his presence felt on the glass early. Miami point guard Chris Quinn was doing everything he could to keep his team in it, hitting a pair of big shots, one of them being a three-pointer that made the score after the first quarter 28-16 in favor of Chicago.

Halfway into the second quarter, Chicago had extended their lead to 34-19, but forward Marcus Slaughter for Miami made some good plays for the Heat on both ends of the floor, including throwing a nice feed that led to a dunk for center John Edwards. With Slaughter’s play, along with the play of guard Junior Harrington, the Heat were able to cut the Bulls lead to 10 with under three minutes to go in the half. That was the closest Miami would get though, as Chicago closed out the half on a 10-3 run, making the score 47-30 at the half.

Sefolosha had 12 in the first half and Gray had 10 for the Bulls. Miami’s leading scorer was guard Jeremy Richardson, who had seven, and as a team, the Heat shot 29.6 percent from the field.

Miami bounced back in a big way in the second half, starting the half on a 13-6 run led by Quinn and Richardson. Chicago continued to hold them off though and headed into the fourth quarter with a 61-51 lead. The fourth proved to be just like the rest of the game, as Chicago ended up winning, 77-66. Miami shot 33 percent overall on the night, while Chicago ended the night shooting just 35 percent. Gray led Chicago with 15 points, and Richardson and Quinn combined to lead Miami with 12 points a piece.

- Mattson Newell