6 takeaways from the Chicago Bulls’ 113-103 win, including Zach LaVine’s response about locker room disputes

The Chicago Bulls snapped a four-game losing streak with a 113-103 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday.

The win improved the team’s record to 12-18, but the Bulls still sit at 11th place in the Eastern Conference.

Here are six takeaways from the game.

1. After a tumultuous day of reports, Bulls stars responded to the pressure.

The Bulls entered Tuesday’s game in Miami under a microscope after a series of reports by The Athletic and NBC Sports Chicago of halftime conflict and arguments in the locker room during Sunday’s blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The reports centered the conflict on All-Star Zach LaVine, who has struggled to find his rhythm this season after signing a $215 million maximum contract in the offseason.

LaVine delivered his response in the form of an explosive night of, scoring a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter. He finished with 21 points and seven assists, but the most promising sign for LaVine was his selflessness off the ball and on defense. The guard played with a renewed vigor, dishing passes and readily cracking a smile throughout the win.

After several long weeks of LaVine visibly carrying the team’s frustration on his shoulders, this change in energy was a welcome sight for Bulls fans.

2. Nikola Vučević led the offensive charge with an explosive night of shooting.

While LaVine’s energy was at the focus of the game, center Nikola Vučević's scoring solidified the win.

Vučević led the Bulls with a season-high 29 points, going 3-for-5 from 3-point range while making most of his damage around the rim against a short-handed Heat team. Two of his three 3-pointers came in the fourth quarter to help the Bulls pull away down the stretch. Most important, Vučević's teammates clearly were scouting for him all night, setting the center up for mismatches to scrape away at the Heat in the paint.

It’s not common for Vučević to be the centerpiece of the Bulls offense, a sacrifice he has made for nearly two years since his trade from the Orlando Magic. But he led the Bulls in attempts (17) against the Heat, a welcome change of which he took full advantage.

3. The Bulls defense rallied after questions of effort in Minnesota.

The Bulls defense was equally under pressure after coach Billy Donovan heavily questioned his team’s defensive effort after a blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.

Although the Bulls defense still shows significant weaknesses — particularly along the 3-point line — the team’s overall intensity improved both on the ball and in rotations against the Heat. The Bulls scored 21 points off 13 turnovers, a critical return to their most successful style of play, which hinges on disruptive defense.

“That’s what we have to do,” Donovan said. “We’re not the longest team, the most athletic team, the fastest team. We’ve got to cover for each other. I felt like the effort was there to get out there and contest defensively.”

4. Bulls are still susceptible to a second-quarter slip but made up for it in the third quarter.

Despite holding a 10-point lead after one quarter, the Bulls seemed doomed to repeat a familiar pattern when the Heat opened the second with a 17-4 run. The seven-minute slip erased the lead — putting the Bulls down three points on a momentum swing — and it cornered on sloppy ball protection, a lingering theme of the last month.

But the Bulls responded differently in Miami, firing up their offense in the third quarter to take a 15-point lead while outscoring the Heat 36-20. Miami turned the ball over six times in the third quarter while the Bulls coughed the ball up only once. The Bulls scored made 3-pointers in the quarter, but the meat of the offense came from DeMar DeRozan in the midrange and Vučević in the post.

5. Derrick Jones Jr.’s injury forced Andre Drummond back into the fray.

Derrick Jones Jr. left the game in the third quarter with a left knee sprain, raising more concerns for the dwindling power forward unit with Javonte Green already sidelined because of a right knee injury. Jones has seen more minutes this season, sometimes operating as a preferred backup power forward over Green depending on the matchup.

Drummond hadn’t played in two straight games and nearly made it to three before Jones’ injury forced Donovan to sub in the backup center in the waning seconds of the third quarter.

Donovan previously said Drummond’s absence from the rotation was due to the necessity for the Bulls to play smaller lineups to keep up with the pace of opponents. But dropping Drummond from the rotation has limited the Bulls in some ways around the rim, particularly in rebounds. Drummond ranks second on the team to Vučević with 6.9 rebounds per game.

6. The Bulls beat the Heat for the second time this season, but it means less without Jimmy Butler and company.

This was the second win for the Bulls in Miami this season, but the victory must be taken in context. The Heat were extremely short-handed, with starters Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler and Caleb Martin held out because of injuries. Key reserve guard Gabe Vincent also was sidelined.

A win is still a win for the Bulls, especially after dropping previous games to decimated teams such as the Wizards without Bradley Beal. But the absence of the Heat’s starting core makes it difficult to assess how the Bulls would fare against top talent at full strength, even when their effort is more focused.