Friday night, the Miami HEAT were in Chicago to play the Bulls. The questions of the game were, can the HEAT win on the road & will rebounding issues hurt Miami once again? The Chicago Bulls give up the most points in the paint. Miami was looking to capitalize on that. 

Erik Spoelstra is just FOUR wins shy of 800 career wins 🤯

Both teams came out playing at a fast pace on offense to start the first quarter. And just like that, two fouls were called on Pelle Larsson in the opening 2:35. And, as expected with Niko Jovic out, there are  rotation minutes for Keshad Johnson.

It was a tight start to the game, both teams really know each other well with the 3 years of play in matchups. The Bulls were running cutting & playing fast feeding off Josh Giddey’s play making. Both teams were getting to the paint & scoring behind the others defense. The HEAT was pushing pace in transition & half court. Miami wasn’t really shooting the ball well but they stayed in it with stingy defense.

And then Norm Powell went to HEAT locker room. He's been dealing with a balky ankle & was questionable to return. 

The HEAT led after the 1Q, 36 to 32. Dru Smith had seven points for the HEAT off the bench. 8 HEAT players scored in the 1Q & they needed it with Powell in the locker room.

In the 2Q, Norman Powell returned to the sideline & rode the stationary bike for a few minutes & then checked back in to the game. In that time period where Powell was out, you could tell this was already the best Keshad Johnson game we've seen.

Just like that, the HEAT were up by 23. It felt a bit like the first games against Charlotte this season. The Bulls were a step and a half behind everything on both ends of the court in the 2Q. Chicago tried zone but their zone was eating up only half the amount of space as New York's zone. Miami limited Chicago’s offensive rebounds to only 1. Powell came back in the game firing away & the team was feeding off his shot making. Keshad Johnson gave the HEAT a great, well needed burst of energy, physicality & athleticism off the bench.

Miami moved ahead 70-52 into halftime in Chicago. Norman Powell had 15 for the HEAT despite briefly leaving with groin strain. 

In the 3Q the HEAT came out playing hard nosed defense denying Chicago’s chances in transition & in the half court. All of a sudden on a call from the referee, Kevin Huerter was ejected after smacking the ball in disgust from a defensive foul call against him & the ball hit the referee. 

After they ejected Huerter, the Bulls kept pushing their pace making buckets & brought the HEAT 25 point lead to 14, but Miami stabilized relatively quickly & pushed it to 20 & more. 

Davion Mitchell had a good night, scoring when needed by taking what the Bulls defense was giving him. 

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The Miami HEAT led 102 to 75 after three. Norm Powell had 19 as NBA Cup mania continues to build with the HEAT. 

In the 4Q, Miami went up as many as 41. In the NBA Cup tournament, point differential matters. The HEAT won 143-107 in Chicago, without three players projected to be among their top scorers.

Eight players were in double figures, led by Kel’el Ware with 20. The HEAT’s rebounding weakness was no problem against Chicago. Miami made hustle play after hustle play which led to the biggest margin of victory against the bulls in franchise history! The Heat are 12-0 all time when reaching 140 points. This was Miami’s 3rd highest scoring game this season & the HEAT are now  2-1 in cup competition. 

#HEATWin FINAL: HEAT 143, Bulls 107

🔥 Ware: 20pts, 14rebs

🔥 Powell: 19pts

🔥 Adebayo: 18pts, 7rebs, 5asts, 3blks

🔥 Larsson: 16 pts, 7asts

🔥 Mitchell: 16pts, 6asts

🔥 Johnson: 14 pts, 12rebs

🔥 Smith: 12pts, 7rebs, 3stls

🔥 Jaquez Jr.: 10pts, 7rebs, 7asts

The Bulls couldn't keep up with Miami's offense, couldn't stay away from Bam Adebayo's defense and Keshad Johnson reminded everyone that development is not always linear.

Plus, insight into Miami's NBA Cup position.

Coup’s Takeaways:

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