Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Heat got wasted in the second half at home by the Bulls

They take a step forward and like clockwork, take one or two steps backward in the following game.

The Bulls scored 12 straight points without an answer in fewer than five minutes, causing coach Erik Spoelstra to summon the troops. Yet the visitors kept racing down court like the Running of the Bulls through Spanish streets, and they finished the first quarter scoring 14 fastbreak points and claiming a six-digit edge. 

It wasn’t much different than early in the second frame as they kept invading the lane, but the Heat countered with a 15-3 run and found gold in Myron Gardner’s minutes. Jaime Jaquez Jr. also ripped up the open court, and the crew got a boost from Chicago’s 14 turnovers heading into halftime with a seven-point lead. 

They subsequently surrendered their advantage with a cold start to the third, and Ayo Dosunmu kept producing in transition. They were outscored by 14 in the period, but if it weren’t for Pelle Larsson carrying them and Gardner doing the dirty work, it would’ve gotten uglier. 

Bam Adebayo then snapped out of his funk, nailing five consecutive shots in the lane and from the top of the key. But their downfall was committing seven late turnovers and being unable to stop Matas Buzelis and Ayo Dosunmu’s flurry, which included five baskets in the restricted area without a miss.

The Heat lost 125-118. They conceded 26 fastbreak points, which is the fourth-most of the year. It was their 11th loss at home this season, too.

Takeaways:

• It was the 50th game of the regular season, and the Heat is the 10th seed, two games out of the sixth spot. The Bulls didn’t have their primary guards, Josh Giddey and Coby White, but they still got top-notch production from Dosunmu, who finished with 29 points on 68.8% shooting, with nine assists and eight rebounds.

• Yuki Kawamura, the 5’7 point guard, got his first  minutes of the season for Chicago in half of the fourth quarter, and he was electric, hustling for loose balls, setting up teammates and nailing two 3-pointers.  

• The third quarter was another turd quarter because they allowed 59.1% shooting and even had a four-minute drought that extended from late in the period until early in the fourth. On top of that, Isaac Okoro, who came into the game averaging 8.4 points per contest, scored 11 in the period. 

• Gardner got his first career start, and had his first double-double with 12 points on 80% shooting, with 11 rebounds. Good things happen for the Heat in his minutes because of his high level of intensity to guard and track loose balls.

• Spoelstra had no trust in Kel’el Ware after a poor three minutes. The former’s frustration was palpable at the postgame presser, saying, “I know every press conference becomes about him, and I don’t want it to be that.” He also said that it wasn’t an indictment of his player, but that the game was going too fast because Chicago was using small forwards at center. Furthermore, took blame for not making positive lineups with Ware.