Heat scorch Bulls
Dwyane Wade scored 28 points, Daequan Cook hit three big three-pointers in the fourth quarter as Miami pulled away, and the Heat eclipsed last season’s win total by beating the Chicago Bulls 90-77 Friday.
Mario Chalmers had 16 points and six assists while Michael Beasley – the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft, after the Bulls chose Derrick Rose – scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth for Miami (16-12), which won its fourth straight.
Ben Gordon had 15 points for the Bulls, who shot just 37 percent. Larry Hughes scored 13 for Chicago and Rose finished with only 10 on 3-for-14 shooting.
Including the first-round sweep in the 2007 playoffs, the Bulls had won nine of their last 11 games entering Friday against the Heat, and averaged nearly 105 points in those wins.
They didn’t get anywhere near that Friday, falling for the 13th time in 16 road games this season.
It was close until the fourth, when Cook gave Miami a four-point lead by hitting a three-pointer, then added two more in the next three minutes – the last of which put the Heat up 81-73 with 5:48 left.
That was more than enough, since the Bulls went 4-for-17 from the floor in the fourth.
Udonis Haslem tied a season-high with 14 rebounds, while Cook scored 12 points for the Heat. Aaron Gray had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls.
Chicago lost forward Luol Deng to a sprained left ankle with 7:52 left in the third quarter. He landed awkwardly, tumbled to the floor and grabbed the area just below his left knee.