The Miami Heat will take on the struggling Bulls on Saturday in Chicago, where they are riding a seven-game winning streak.
A complimentary style served as the impetus for Miami’s longest run of success since the 2017–18 campaign.
Heat center Bam Adebayo stated, “We’re competing on the other end, getting stops, and running in transition. We’re playing together basketball.”
Notwithstanding a three-game losing streak that included back-to-back home losses to Miami’s in-state rival, the Orlando Magic, Chicago can somewhat empathize.
After scoring just 33 points in the first half on both Wednesday and Friday, the NBA season low for points before halftime, the Bulls challenged the Magic down the stretch both times, only to falter.
Orlando left town with victories by scores of 96-94 and 103-97.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan wants his team to accelerate its pace.
“I think generally when you’re not playing with great pace, you’re not going to generate great shots,” Donovan said Friday. “We’ve just got to find a way to play the way we did in the second half. And I’m not even necessarily talking about that we were mistake-free, but just the force and pace we played with at both ends.
“We’ve got to be able to establish that the whole game, because we’re certainly digging ourselves incredible holes to come from.”
Zach LaVine led the Bulls on Saturday night, scoring 25 of his 34 points after the break. With a personal matter keeping him out of the game on Wednesday, DeMar DeRozan returned to the starting lineup and finished with 23 points. After that, Nikola Vucevic finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists, followed by Alex Caruso with 18 points.
As the Bulls attempt to snap their losing streak, Donovan stated that scrambling to recover from bad starts is “a tough way to live” and not sustainable.
“I think when they play like they did in the second half, it’s inspiring to watch,” Donovan stated.
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