Butler, Wade Lead Bulls Past Heat, 105-100
CHICAGO (AP) — Jimmy Butler scored 31 points, Dwyane Wade added 28 against his former team and the Chicago Bulls held off the struggling Miami Heat, 105-100, on Saturday night.
Butler scored Chicago's final 10 points to help the Bulls come out on top after Miami pulled within one.
Wade keyed a big third-quarter run in his second game against the Heat, and the Bulls hung on after handing San Antonio its first road loss two nights earlier.
Goran Dragic led Miami with 21 points and 11 assists. An energetic Hassan Whiteside added 20 points after being benched for part of Friday's blowout loss in Cleveland. Tyler Johnson scored 15, but the Heat dropped their fifth straight.
Johnson cut it to 97-96 when he nailed a 3-pointer with 4:20 left. Butler then drove for a three-point play and hit another free throw to make it 101-96, but the Heat weren't finished.
A layup by Dragic and basket by Whiteside in the lane cut it to 101-100 with 13 seconds remaining. Butler then hit two free throws to boost Chicago's lead back up to three.
With a chance to tie, Dragic and Josh Richardson botched a handoff near the top of the key. Butler got the steal and hit two more foul shots with less than a second left to seal the win.
TIP-INS
Heat: F Udonis Haslem rejoined Heat after they let him miss Friday's game at Cleveland to watch his son win a state football championship. The 14-year veteran got to see Kedonis Haslem, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound lineman, and Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas pound Plant 45-6 in the Florida Class 7A final. "He's missed all of his son's important playoff games and championship games, senior year," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "U.D. has been in 13 years of service with us and you miss so many moments that we felt that this would be a moment that he wasn't going to miss and regret years from now." ... Spoelstra said Whiteside has been dealing with knee and hip issues as well as "a couple other things."
Bulls: Though it wasn't Wade's first game against his former team, coach Fred Hoiberg figured the star guard would still experience some emotions. "There's no doubt about that, anytime he plays against Miami, just like any player who's played their entire career in one uniform. Again, it's about going out there and playing with great energy," Hoiberg said. ... The Bulls began the night second to Denver in rebounds per game at 48.6.
UP NEXT
Heat: Host Washington on Monday night.
Bulls: Host Minnesota on Tuesday night.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.