Heat scored 143 on Chicago

The Heat were dominated last regular season by Chicago. The Bulls won all three games. In the first game in February, Matas Buzelis went a perfect 10 of 10 from the field. In the final two games, Josh Giddey scored triple-doubles. There was the game where Tyler Herro passed up an easy two-point layup for a three-pointer that wasn’t close. But in the play-in game, for the third year in a row, Miami won and advanced to get massacred by Cleveland. This is a mid-tier rivalry no doubt.

Key Sequence of the game

The game was close at the start of the second quarter at 37-32. Then the Heat went on a 33-20 run to blow the game away and run the Bulls out of the United Center. Keshad Johnson, the undersized power forward had what Coach Spoelstra would call “impactful plays” in less than a two minute stretch.

Johnson got an offensive rebound off of a Simone Fontecchio three-point miss. He attempted a layup, missed, got the offensive rebound, got fouled, sunk two free throws and then blocked Issac Okoro’s layup attempt. Johnson had eight first half rebounds and finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

NBA Cup ramifications

The NBA Cup is boring. This was a group game, but as per the standings, the Heat are behind Milwaukee. The two teams play on November 26 for the right to advance to the knockout round. The Heat have the highest point differential margin (+46) among the five teams, so that is nice.

Regardless of its result, the Heat have a very good chance to make the knockout round as a “wildcard team.” Minnesota has a high point differential (+53) in the West but they are third place in their group. Phoenix is second behind Oklahoma City.