Butler Scores 27 Points Against Former Team, Heat Beat Bulls
CHICAGO (AP) — Jimmy Butler had 27 points against his former team and the Miami Heat beat the Chicago Bulls 116-108 on Friday night for their fifth straight victory.
Butler played for the Bulls from 2011-17. He was 7 of 10 from the field and had seven assists and five rebounds
Bam Adebayo added 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Kendrick Nunn scored 13 of his 21 points in the first quarter to help Miami improve to 11-3. The Heat led wire-to-wire and had as much as a 26-point lead.
Zach Lavine led the Bulls who finished with 15 points. Chciago is 3-6 at home this season.
Nunn, making his Chicago homecoming, scored 13 points in the first quarter on 5-for-7 shooting. Nunn blew by Lauri Markkanen several times and was 3-of-5 from 3-point range in the quarter.
Nunn, a high school star from the south side, played high basketball with Jabari Parker at Simeon. Nunn played three seasons at Illinois before transferring to Oakland. After a year in the G-League, Nunn is becoming the biggest breakout star in the league.
The Heat, who came into the game with the best shooting percentage in the NBA, opened an 18-2 lead on Meyers Leonard's 3-pointer. Kelly Olynyk extended the lead to 40-18 early in the second quarter with another 3. The Heat made 10 of their first 14 3-point attempts.
After dominating behind the arc, the Heat showed their muscle in the paint outrebounding the Bulls 24-12 in the first half. Adebayo contributed with 14 points and seven rebounds in the half.
Miami led 67-41 on Goran Dragic's layup before Ryan Arcidiacono made a layup as the buzzer ended the first half. Dragic finished with 16 points and seven assists.
Coby White and Thaddeus Young each scored 12 off the bench. The Bulls didn't show much life until Bulls coach Jim Boylen emptied his bench. Denzel Valentine's 3 got the Bulls to 106-98 with 1:53 left and he hit another 3 to get it to 108-101 with 1:19 left. Valentine was 3 for 4 from 3-point range and finished with nine points in 5 minutes.
TIP-IN
The Bulls played without Chandler Hutchison and Otto Porter. Hutchison is out with shin splits and Porter is out with a left foot sprain. The Heat played without Justise Winslow, who was out with a concussion. ... The Heat outscored the Bulls 34-16 in the first quarter. That was the worst offensive quarter of the season for Chicago. Chicago also had its worst defensive first half, giving up 67 points.
UP NEXT
Heat: At Philadelphia on Saturday.
Bulls: At Charlotte on Saturday night.
