Ayo Dosunmu delivered a season-high 29 points as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Miami Heat 125-118 on Saturday night at Kaseya Center. The win came despite Chicago being without several key rotation players and ahead of another immediate rematch in Miami.
The Chicago guard added nine assists and eight rebounds while shooting 11-of-16 from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point range. His production anchored an offense that relied heavily on ball movement and perimeter shooting.
Matas Buzelis finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists, continuing a strong stretch with extended minutes. Isaac Okoro added 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting as Chicago placed four starters in double figures.
The Bulls made 20 three-pointers on 40 attempts, finishing at 50 percent from beyond the arc. Chicago also assisted on 34 of its 46 made field goals, a key factor against Miami’s half-court defense.
Pelle Larsson led Miami with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Bam Adebayo scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Fifteen of Adebayo’s points came in the fourth quarter as the Heat attempted multiple late pushes.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 20 points and seven assists off the bench for Miami. The Heat tied the game four times in the final 3:37 but never reclaimed the lead during that stretch.
Chicago coach Billy Donovan’s early game management proved significant. A timeout 1:16 into the game preceded a 12-0 Bulls run, while another early third-quarter stoppage sparked a 10-0 surge after Chicago trailed by 11.
Those runs flipped momentum and helped Chicago take a 91-84 lead into the fourth quarter. The Bulls maintained offensive spacing late and converted key perimeter looks to hold off Miami.
The Bulls were without six of their nine highest-paid players, including Josh Giddey, Nikola Vucevic, Coby White and Tre Jones.
Miami was also short-handed, missing four of its top six salaries in Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier, Norman Powell and Davion Mitchell.
Chicago improved to 24-25, remaining ninth in the Eastern Conference standings. Miami fell to 26-24 and stayed eighth despite strong fourth-quarter execution.
