The Miami HEAT defeated the Chicago Bulls 89-84 Monday night at United Center. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 28 points.
1. Wade Very Sharp
From the start, Wade looked great on the offensive end and was aggressive. The best part about his approach was that he was very patient throughout the game. While he drilled a few jumpers, he mainly attacked the rim and hit a bunch of nifty floaters and runners.
One of his best ones came with 7:50 left in the second quarter when he had the ball on the left elbow against Tony Snell. From there, he took a dribble, spun to his left towards the block and hit the tough floater.
Down the stretch, Wade made some great feeds to his teammates and also nailed a clutch jumper over Pau Gasol to put the HEAT up by four with 22.9 seconds left. He quite simply did whatever he wanted against the Bulls. That’s not all though. On the flip side of the ball, the 34-year-old defended Jimmy Butler very well and helped hold him to just 5-of-15 shooting. Of course, Justise Winslow also played a role in that. In addition to his 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting, Wade also totaled seven rebounds and five assists.
2. Bosh Pressures Gasol
While Chris Bosh scored 18 points on the night, including six in the all-important fourth quarter, it was his defense that really stole the show. Late in the game, Bosh made things very difficult for Gasol and aggressively contested his shots. No play was as impactful as a huge steal he had on Gasol in the post with 9.9 seconds left in the game. It’s no surprise that both Bosh and Wade laid it all on the line to snap Miami’s four-game losing streak. The 31-year-old grabbed seven boards to go along with his 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting.
3. Welcome Back
With Beno Udrih and Goran Dragic out the past few games, the HEAT had some trouble offensively. Luckily, Udrih made his return to the lineup on Monday night after missing four games due to a strained neck. The vet made things smoother for Miami on the offensive end in the first half. Thanks to Udrih’s solid decision making, the HEAT committed just four turnovers through the first two quarters. He tallied a few hockey assists in the game, with one coming just as the first half was coming to a close.
To start the sequence, Amar’e Stoudemire blocked Butler and passed it to Udrih. Udrih then brought it up court and found Wade, who then gave it to Bosh for the nifty reverse in transition.
Luol Deng also returned to action against Chicago. He was very aggressive early on and hit a big corner three late in the fourth quarter. The former Duke Blue Devil finished the game with nine points and four rebounds.
He also had this monster jam about midway through the first quarter.
Other Takeaways:
-Stoudemire had yet another solid outing and started for the second consecutive game. The vet had good defensive position on quite a few occasions and also led the team in rebounding. STAT tallied eight points, ten boards and two assists on the night.
Game Notes: Hassan Whiteside (hip), Goran Dragic (calf), Chris Andersen (knee) and Josh McRoberts (knee) all sat out.