The Bulls sputtered through the first three quarters and played with urgency late. But it wasn’t good enough, and their deficit for the last play-in spot grew.
No team in the Eastern Conference has done fourth-quarter desperation better than the Bulls the last week.
The problem remains the three quarters of frustration that prelude it far too often.
That was again the case Saturday in Miami, as the Bulls spent most of the opening 36 minutes of the game looking up at a seemingly insurmountable 20-point deficit, only to run Jimmy Butler & Co. down before falling short in the 106-101 loss.
Not a great night to follow that blueprint yet again, as the deficit for the last play-in spot held by the Wizards is now 1 ½ games.
“There’s no need to panic,’’ wing Denzel Valentine said of the current situation the Bulls find themselves in. “We have the type of team that can compete with anyone in the NBA. It’s just up to us if we want to come out and play hard, do the things to finish off the season strong.
“I personally think that we can finish off the season strong, and there’s no need to panic.’’
It looked like panic time early on, however, as Miami’s Duncan Robinson went 4-for-4 from three-point range quickly, finishing the first half with 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting from long range, and the Heat up 20.
Like they have done in many large deficits this season, there was late-game fight.
As bad as the visiting team was through the first three quarters, the defensive handcuffs came out to start the final stanza, as the Bulls went on an 18-5 run.
By the time Valentine made a 26-foot three pointer, the Heat lead was on simmer, only up three.
Miami had answers, however, led by Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, and in a matter of minutes the Heat lead was back to eight.
Valentine hit another clutch three, but the Butler did it again, hitting a three-footer, getting a steal, and then scoring again with 3:33 left for his ninth point in the quarter.
Miami went cold, opening the door for a Bulls comeback. Problem was Valentine happened, and not the good kind.
Down five with 52.4 seconds left, the wing inexplicably launched a three from 30-plus feet out with no rebounders even near the paint for a possible rebound. He then dug the hole deeper, fouling Robinson after the shooter hit the layup.
“I was upset because I called timeout before the shot ever went up, and I wasn’t granted timeout,’’ coach Billy Donovan said. “They said he was in the act of shooting and when I yelled timeout he wasn’t in the act of shooting. I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to [Valentine’s shot], just because the way the floor was balanced coming down in transition, I just didn’t like the way we were set up.
“It was probably not a great shot.’’
Valentine wasn’t even going to dispute that.
“It was a bad shot,’’ Valentine said. “If I could go back I wouldn’t have took it. I would have come down and got something we wanted, but I kind of got lost in the game, kind of wanted to hit the shot.’’
Coby White, who finished with 31 points, cut the lead to four with 30.3 seconds left, giving them a puncher’s chance, and a punch connected when Miami was hit with an eight-second violation, giving the Bulls the ball back with 22.3 seconds.
White went back to work, dunking the ball with 15.8 seconds left. Kendrick Dunn was fouled, making both and putting the Bulls (25-35) back in a bad spot.
When Garrett Temple missed his three-point attempt that was all but the ballgame.
And just like that the late-game fight was for naught.
“I think we have a really talented team that deserves to be in the playoffs,’’ Valentine added. “But it’s just up to us and our effort.’’
from Chicago Sun-Times - All https://ift.tt/3sPtTo3
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