Heat falls down big early, loses to Bulls. Details and takeaways

Five takeaways from the Heat’s 124-116 loss against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night at Kaseya Center:

▪ The Heat overcame a dreadful start but could never stop the Bulls off the dribble and could never get over the hump.

Down by as many as 25 in the first half, Miami closed to within four at the half.

With Nikola Vucevic scoring 15 in the third, the Bulls’ lead swelled to 85-71 before Kevin Love and Jimmy Butler sparked a run that pulled Miami to within 93-88 after three.

Miami drew within four points multiple times in the fourth quarter but never any closer.

After the last of those instances when Miami drew within four, Butler missed a free throw, Ayo Dosunmu hit a three, Caleb Martin committed a traveling violation and Love missed a three.

DeMar DeRozan then hit a jumper, putting the Bulls up nine with just over a minute left. That essentially settled matters.

The Bulls committed just five turnovers and shot 48.4 percent from the field and 38.9 percent on threes. The Heat couldn’t slow Coby White or backup guard Dosunmu, who both repeatedly beat Miami off the dribble.

White had 26 points and 11 assists. Dosumnu finished with 24 points (10 for 12 shooting), 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

That supplemented 23 points from DeRozan and 24 from Nik Vucevic.

Chicago’s penetration largely explained why the Bulls scored 44 of the game’s first 80 paint points. Miami remains generally unable to contain particularly quick guards.

“We couldn’t contain their drives,” Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. said.

The Heat got 20 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists from Jimmy Butler, 22 from rookie Jaquez Jr. and 17 points, 11 rebounds and four assists from Martin.

Kyle Lowry chipped in 17 points, and Love added 16, including three third-quarter threes.

But Butler shot just 6 for 15 and was sometimes bothered by Vucevic’s size.

The Heat shot 44 percent on threes, but that wasn’t enough.

Chicago sprinted to an absurd 33-8 lead, the largest deficit the Heat has faced this season. By that point, the Bulls were shooting 13 for 17, including 7 for 9 on threes, and the Heat was shooting 3 for 12.

“The first quarter was the game basically for us,” Lowry said. “We didn’t come out with enough energy. We found a way to get back into it. They were moving the ball really well, really attacked us. They did a good job of spacing us out and getting to their spots.”

After a 10-0 Heat run, the Bulls pushed their cushion to 53-30 before Miami closed the half on a 26-7 run to trail 60-56 at the break. But Miami -- playing without Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, among others -- could never take the lead in the second half.

“You have to do different things when you have a guy like DeRozan and you don’t have a switchable guy like Bam,” Erik Spoelstra said. “There were breakdowns that led to fouls that proved to be costly.

“I would have liked for us to take the lead one time. That’s what I was saying every timeout. We never could quite [do it]... We had some defensive breakdowns that led to some open shots.”

▪ Help is on the way.

Herro, who has missed 17 consecutive games with an ankle injury, said he is targeting a return on Monday at home against Minnesota or on Wednesday in Orlando.

Herro, incidentally, is now officially ineligible for an All NBA team this season. Players must be on the floor for 20 minutes in at least 65 games to be eligible for honors including NBA MVP and All-NBA teams.

Herro has missed 17 games and was on the floor for only eight minutes in the game when he injured his ankle.

Herro took that 65-game news in stride, saying he hopes to achieve that next year or the year after.

As for Adebayo, he’s expected back from a left hip contusion sometime in December. Adebayo has missed nine games, so he’s not yet precluded from consideration for an All NBA team or the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. But if he misses nine more, he will be eliminated from consideration.

After missing Wednesday’s win against Charlotte with a severe headache, Josh Richardson sat out Thursday with back spasms. Haywood Highsmith remains sidelined with a lower back contusion.

Nikola Jovic is expected back for Saturday’s home game against the Bulls after spending two games in the G-League.

The Bulls played without former All Star guard Zach LaVine and lost Alex Caruso to a first quarter ankle injury.

▪ Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, 37-year-old Lowry continued his exceptional three-point shooting.

Lowry entered 16th in the league in three-point shooting at 44.1 percent and hit 4 of 9 on Thursday.

Lowry entered eighth on the team in scoring at 9.5 per game, but he has been efficient and generally available, appearing in 24 games, second on the team, behind only Jaquez’s 24.

“He put in time in the offseason and understands Father Time is the ultimate opponent,” Spoelstra said. “Kyle understands we have guys out and we need him.”

▪ Two of the two-way contract players (and backup centers Love and Thomas Bryant) gave the Heat a spark.

R.J. Hampton and Jamal Cain - both on two-way deals - entered the game with veteran Bryant when Miami was down 33-8. A lineup with those three, Jaquez and Butler orchestrated a 10-0 run.

“We started off sluggish but I love the spirit everybody brought in the second quarter,” Spoelstra said.

That 10-0 burst included Cain’s electrifying block of Patrick Williams’ rising attempt at the rim. A night after scoring 14 points against Charlotte, Cain didn’t take a shot from the field, closing with three points in eight minutes.

Hampton returned when Miami fell behind 85-71 in the third quarter, and the Heat then went on a 9-4 run, with Butler and Love instigating that surge.

Hampton finished the night with three points, making his only shot, in nine minutes.

“I tried to change the pace of the game,” he said.

Bryant hit a short hook to pull Miami within 101-97 in the fourth. Effort is never an issue with the veteran backup center.

Love, who has been giving the Heat generally good minutes off the bench, hit 5 of 12 shots and was again on the court late, with Butler, Jaquez, Martin and Lowry. Love added nine rebounds, four assists and a steal.

▪ The Heat has been very good against losing teams this season, except against Chicago. And Miami isn’t winning enough at home.

The Heat is 10-2 this season against teams that currently have a losing record. Both losses came against Chicago, which improved to 10-16.

The Heat finished last season with a 19-14 record against teams with a losing record, including embarrassing home setbacks against Detroit and San Antonio.

The Heat dropped to 6-5 at home, a pace that must improve for Miami to snag a top six seed and avoid the play-in round again.

Miami (14-11) squandered a chance to move five games above .500 for a second time this season.

The Heat and Bulls play again at Kaseya Center at 8 p.m. Saturday, with Chicago now leading the season series, 2-1.