The Miami Heat delivered a statement performance on Sunday night, overwhelming the Chicago Bulls 134-91 and tying the third-largest victory margin in franchise history. Bam Adebayo and Pelle Larsson led the way with 20 points each as Miami dominated from start to finish, building a lead as large as 54 points.
Before this game, the Heat’s largest lead this season was 45 points at Memphis on October 24. The 54-point advantage marked Miami’s second-largest lead in the play-by-play era dating back to 1996; the franchise record remains a 60-point win over Memphis on March 29, 2024. For Chicago, the 54-point deficit was its largest since a 58-point loss to Boston on December 8, 2018. This season, the Bulls had suffered two 41-point deficits, one against Minnesota on December 29 and another versus Miami on November 21.
Miami played without guard Norman Powell (personal reasons) and Tyler Herro (ribs). Nevertheless, several players stepped up: Kel’el Ware scored 17 points, Andrew Wiggins and Jaime Jaquez Jr. each added 14, and Davion Mitchell returned from a shoulder injury to contribute 13 points. Vlad Goldin made a memorable debut in the fourth quarter with his first NBA points on a dunk where he kicked out his legs in homage to the iconic Jumpman logo.
For the Bulls, Coby White led with 16 points, followed by Nikola Vucevic with 12 and Ayo Dosunmu with 10.
This matchup also featured a rare scheduling scenario: the two teams faced each other three consecutive times in the regular season, something the NBA had not seen since 1972. The original two-game set in Miami was joined by a rescheduled game in Chicago this Thursday, completing a three-game, four-night series. Miami won two of the three contests.
The Bulls visit Milwaukee on Tuesday, while the Heat host Atlanta on the same night.
