CHICAGO (AP) – Josh Richardson scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and Hassan Whiteside had 18 points and 10 rebounds to help the Miami Heat beat the Chicago Bulls 103-96 on Friday night.
Bam Adebayo added 14 points and 13 rebounds, and the Heat held on after nearly squandering a 26-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Zach LaVine got the Bulls to 87-84 with 6:07 left, but Richardson had back-to-back baskets and Wayne Ellington answered with a 3. Richardson made his fifth 3 to put the Heat up 100-90 with 2:00 left.
Justin Holiday had 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls and LaVine added 24.
Within a minute in the second quarter, Whiteside shot airballs on two free throws. His first airball came on the front end of a shooting foul, then he airballed another free throw after trying to convert a three-point play. Whiteside could get a chuckle about it because the Heat were on a 20-2 run, where he scored 12 points. The Heat outscored the Bulls 32-13 in the second quarter. Whiteside was perfect from the floor in the second quarter, making all five of his attempts, while going 2-for-7 from the free throw line.
The Bulls were horrific in the second quarter, making only 2-of-their-19 field goal attempts while committing nine turnovers. Whiteside provided the defensive presence for the Heat by blocking three shots in the quarter.
The Heat led 60-39 at the half. Richardson finished with 13 points in the half for Miami and Justin Holiday led the Bulls with 17 points in the half.
The Heat led by as many as 26 in the second quarter, but the Bulls were able to get within four points in the fourth quarter. Chicago went on a 9-0 run midway through the third quarter. LaVine capped it off with a dunk. Then in the fourth quarter, Parker scored six consecutive points to get Chicago within 81-77. Parker scored 17 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter.
