5 takeaways from the Chicago Bulls’ win over the Miami Heat, including a 4th-quarter comeback and another slow start

The Chicago Bulls ended a three-game losing streak Saturday night with a 102-97 comeback win over the Miami Heat.

After going down by 21 points in the first quarter, the Bulls took their first lead with 51 seconds left. The comeback was a galvanizing result for the Bulls after they failed to pull off similar come-from-behind finishes in two games against the Orlando Magic earlier in the week.

Here are five takeaways from the game.

1. The Bulls had their slowest start of the season.

They entered Saturday’s game eager to break out of a trend of slow starts in their last three losses. Instead they got off to their worst start of the season.

Boos echoed around the United Center when the Heat took a 20-1 lead, then grew louder when DeMar DeRozan was called for an offensive foul in transition on the ensuing play. Zach LaVine made the Bulls’ first field goal seven minutes into the game. By that point, the Heat were up 22-1.

The comeback win somewhat dulled the frustration of falling behind by more than 20 points yet again. But the Bulls know they can’t compete consistently with these poor first quarters.

“The feeling we all have when you look up and you see that,” DeRozan said, “it’s frustrating. It’s embarrassing. It’s on us. We’ve just got to stop it, man. We’ve got to take out of our mind that we put ourselves in that position so many times and jinx ourselves to go down in the first quarter.”

2. DeMar DeRozan returned to his comfort zone in the fourth quarter.

After falling into that first-quarter hole, the Bulls spent most of the game chipping away. They would cut the deficit to single digits, only for a flurry of Heat shooting to extend the lead once again. But in the fourth quarter, the Bulls fully came alive to outscore the Heat 34-21.

DeRozan settled into his customary heroics in the fourth, scoring 12 points to lead the offensive effort. He sank a 3-pointer to level the score at 94 with 1:39 left. It was the first time the game was tied since the scoreboard read 0-0.

The Heat scored only once in the final two minutes as the Bulls forced mistakes and turnovers to seal the win.

3. The Bulls benefited from a season-high 3-point volume.

Taking more 3-pointers has been a clear emphasis for the Bulls this season — but it hasn’t always paid off. They entered Saturday’s game shooting 34.4% from 3-point range as they continue to focus on boosting their attempts.

In the first half, that poor shooting persisted as the Bulls went 5-for-22 from deep. But they didn’t allow that low efficiency to deter them from taking a high volume of 3s — and in the second half, shots finally began to fall.

The Bulls shot 11-for-23 (47.8%) behind the arc in the second half and made seven 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to fuel their comeback. By the final horn, they had taken a season-high 45 attempts from deep, hitting 16 (35.6%).

Five players made at least two shots behind the arc. Coby White went 4-for-10, LaVine 3-for-7 and Jevon Carter 3-for-9.

4. Zach LaVine built off a quiet start.

LaVine didn’t finish with a typical stat line. He took only 10 shots overall and only two at the rim, making both. He didn’t get to the free-throw line. And he took only three shots in the first half — including a 3-point heave at the second-quarter buzzer — which contributed to the sluggish offensive start.

LaVine said he was taking what the Heat defense gave him, which included heavy pressure to cut off the pick-and-roll opportunities that typically lead to his slashing drives to the rim. LaVine still had an impact on the offense with a team-high six assists.

LaVine made two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to aid in the comeback effort. And he found other ways make key plays throughout the fourth — scoring off a steal, blocking a shot by Kyle Lowry, assisting on an Alex Caruso 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining.

But the low-scoring night (13 points) continued a trend for LaVine over the last two weeks.

5. The bench propelled the comeback after a poor performance against the Magic.

The bench combined for only eight points Friday as the Bulls lost their second straight game to the Magic. But the unit responded with a balanced contribution against the Heat, producing 26 points, 20 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals.

Carter’s 3-point shooting was essential to keeping the Bulls on pace offensively. Andre Drummond and Torrey Craig provided needed energy around the rim.

This was in stark contrast to the Heat, who relied on stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo for 49 of their 97 points, though they did get 23 points from their bench.

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