Miami Heat

Heat Check: Big first half wasted in rough loss to Bulls

Published Apr. 9, 2015 11:03 p.m. ET

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MIAMI -- The Miami Heat suffered another second-half collapse in a tough 89-78 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday that further erodes their playoff chances.

A 51-32 advantage at halftime with the Heat firing on all cylinders was ultimately not enough to fend off the Bulls.

The first quarter was dominated by big men Hassan Whiteside and Pau Gasol scoring the bulk of their team's points. Whiteside showed excellent mobility and footwork to score eight points in the paint, while Gasol did his damage from the elbow for 10 points through the first 12 minutes of action. Neither team could mount a run to pull ahead however, with the Bulls holding a slim 20-18 lead.

That all changed in the second quarter, when the Heat laid waste to the Bulls by scoring scoring at will and playing lockdown defense to lead by as many as 19 points. Michael Beasley came off the bench to make a huge impact on the game with his hustle and shooting. He made his first four shots, including a trio of 3-pointers.

The Bulls mustered just three field goals and shot 12.5 percent from the field in the second quarter while the Heat were on point with 63.6 percent shooting while protecting the rim with four blocked shots. Reserves James Ennis and Beasley combined to score 18 points off the bench in those 12 minutes, with Beasley alone outscoring the Bulls 13-12.

Chicago refocused at halftime and got back to basics by returning to their scrappy brand of basketball. They opened the second half with seven consecutive points as part of a 15-2 start to cut Miami's lead to single digits. They went on to tie the score at 57 and then took the lead with back-to-back 3-pointers.

"When they made their run and started making shots, we didn't really rely on our defense," said Luol Deng, who finished with eight points and eight rebounds against his former team. "We were just too focused on trying to make shots."

With Derrick Rose watching from the bench after reaching his minutes limit, Chicago continued to play well through the fourth quarter with backup Aaron Brooks running the show and Taj Gibson having his way inside the paint. Miami failed to counter Chicago's toughness in the second half as they lost their early shooting touch and committed turnovers instead of forcing them.

"When it's a playoff feel, a playoff game like this, you have to put your foot on the pedal and you can't take it off considering all the circumstances," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "You have to play every possession. That's a tough-minded team down there, so they tend to work their way back into games."

THE TURNING POINT

After getting outscored 33-12 in the second, the Bulls turned it around in a big way with a 33-8 scoring advantage in the third quarter.

"Offensively there was a lid on there for us," Wade said. "We couldn't make a basket. Their confidence just kept growing."

THE DIFFERENCE MAKER

Gibson was an unstoppable force, particularly in the second half, and finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

STAT OF THE GAME

Chicago shot just 25.5 percent from the field in the first half to tie the worst shooting performance for a Heat opponent in either half of a game this season.

WHAT'S NEXT

Miami hosts the Toronto Raptors on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

You can follow Surya Fernandez on Twitter @SuryaHeatNBA or email him at SuryaFoxSports@gmail.com.