There’s just something about the Miami Heat.
It’s hard to put a finger on it. Maybe it’s talent. Maybe it’s toughness. The Heat aren’t some superhuman foe. They entered the United Center on Friday night only one win ahead of the Bulls in the Eastern Conference standings. And they’ve been beatable even for the Bulls, who won all three of their regular-season matchups last season.
But things change when the games matter more than a win or a loss in the regular season. Every time the Bulls face the Heat in a game with real stakes — the play-in tournament, the NBA Cup — they always seem to fall flat. And Friday was no exception.
Photos: Miami Heat 143, Chicago Bulls 107 at the United Center
It was a familiar story. The Heat battered their way to the basket, scoring 50 points at the rim and 35 more at the free-throw line. The Bulls tried a few defensive twists — including a few rotations of a hapless zone — but never managed to slow the downhill force of the Heat offense in a 143-107 blowout loss.
“We’ve got to start to be the aggressor,” said guard Josh Giddey, who finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. “Teams are starting to realize they can punish us on the offensive boards. They’re starting to run through us. It’s got to come to a point as a team where we make a stand.”
For another team, the game might have turned again in the opening minute of the second half.
After being whistled for a foul, Kevin Huerter batted at the ball, face scrunched in disgust. He wasn’t even watching as the bounced into the leg of referee Che Flores, who was turned to the scorer’s table to log the foul. Official Tony Brothers whistled the play immediately and tossed Huerter from the game after a short review.
After the game, Huerter swore he didn’t intend to aim the ball at Flores. He did not receive an official explanation from the officials, who made the call because of a rule that prohibits players from hitting or throwing the ball at an official.
“It wasn’t malicious,” Huerter said. “It wasn’t intended to be aggressive to (them). I didn’t know the rule so now I guess I’m aware. … I was frustrated with the call. I apologize if that was too much. Obviously it was. I’m going to try to move on.”
Some teams play better when they’re angry. It fuels them, sparks a fire that elevates physicality and drives relentlessness toward the rim. For those teams, an ejection can serve as a catalyst. That was not the case for the Bulls, who simply melted under the Heat’s sustained pressure.
Kel’el Ware had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat, who had eight players score in double figures. Ayo Dosunmu led the Bulls with 23 points.
The loss essentially eliminated the Bulls from advancement out of the group stage of the NBA Cup. The Bulls already had lost one East Group C game to the Milwaukee Bucks. They will play one final game on the road against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, but no team has advanced to the quarterfinals with two losses.
Here are three takeaways from the loss, which dropped the Bulls to 8-7.
1. Injury concerns
Bulls guard Coby White, center, is dressed in street clothes as he watches the second quarter against the Heat on Nov. 21, 2025, at the United Center. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
The Bulls came into Friday short-handed again as guard Coby White sat out to manage his return from a calf injury — and they only lost players as the game progressed.
Matas Buzelis twisted his ankle 24 seconds into the second half, going down at the baseline and remaining on the ground until play was whistled dead. Buzelis was able to walk gingerly to the locker room under his own power, then returned for nearly six minutes before being pulled for good. The second-year forward went 0-for-5 from the floor after the injury.
Barely two minutes after Buzelis went down, forward Isaac Okoro came up limping on another offensive drive. After being fouled, Okoro crumpled over and appeared to grab his left hamstring or glute. He managed to stay on the court long enough to take two free throws before coach Billy Donovan called a timeout to sub him out of the game. The forward was never officially ruled out but did not return with a lower back injury.
Forward Dalen Terry was also ruled out of the game after suffering a left calf injury midway through the fourth quarter. After Patrick Williams fouled out with 7:19 remaining, the Bulls had only seven available players. Giddey was forced to reenter the game for the final five minutes of the blowout because guard Tre Jones hit his minutes restriction in his return from an ankle injury.
2. Giving up the boards
Physicality is a sore spot for the Bulls, who lost the offensive boards in their last two games despite a buzzer-beating win in Portland. The Bulls gave up 15 offensive rebounds to the Heat — and allowed 26 second-chance points.
These allowances combined with fouls and free throws gave the Heat a stiff advantage. But they also took away from the Bulls offense, which is predicated on moving the ball in transition and bumping up the tempo. The Bulls managed only six fast-break points in the loss as the Heat dominated the open court, scoring 22 points off 18 turnovers.
3. Second-quarter deflation
The Bulls struggled to match the Heat’s scoring throughout the game, but the extent of the blowout loss hinged on the second quarter.
It started with the Bulls missing their first four shots of the quarter. They didn’t score for the first 2:28 of the frame as the Heat scored six unanswered points. The Bulls did not crack 10 points until 3:20 remained in the quarter. The Bulls ultimately went 9-for-22 from the floor in the quarter and made only one of their seven attempts from 3-point range.