MIAMI – Though the Miami Heat missed key starters for Saturday's rematch against the Chicago Bulls, the team still suffered a 125-118 loss that was as frustrating a game as it's ever been this season. With the Heat trying to get out of eighth-seed purgatory, Saturday's game was not a step in the right direction as head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke on what led to the disappointing loss.
Miami was down Norman Powell (personal reasons), Davion Mitchell (shoulder), and Tyler Herro (ribs), but Chicago was without Josh Giddey, Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, Jalen Smith, and others.
Spoelstra had mentioned before that defensive disposition has led to their recent faults, but while that was there tonight, he found trouble with the team closing out on possessions and the seven turnovers in the final quarter when the score was tight. Those turnovers Spoelstra mentioned were “deflating,” leading to the loss.
“The disposition was there. This was a frenetic pace,” Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints. “We were just getting beat off the dribble or beat in the post, and then I think we gave up six threes in the last four seconds of the shot clock.”
“In the fourth quarter, it just became really uneven with the seven turnovers; it was hard to get traction. You know, other than when we were going to Bam [Adebayo], and he was trying to will it, but the seven turnovers were really deflating to our offense in the fourth.”
Asked Erik Spoelstra about losing a great opportunity tonight against the Bulls and what he thought about the defensive disposition.
“The disposition was there…Was a frenetic pace….We were just getting beat off the dribble or beat in the post…” #HeatNation
Full response: pic.twitter.com/pkMi7eLXBO
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) February 1, 2026
Adebayo finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Pelle Larsson stood out with 22 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 20 off the bench with seven assists and six rebounds, as Andrew Wiggins had 17.
Due to the absences, two-way player Myron Gardner got his first start of his NBA career and recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Middling first half for the Heat against the undermanned Bulls
Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) and Chicago Bulls center Lachlan Olbrich (47) battle for a rebound during the first half at Kaseya Center.
Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
This game could be deceiving, as the Bulls were missing key players in Josh Giddey, Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, and others. The supporting cast still made it tough on Miami to start the game. After a quick Bulls timeout, with Miami scoring only three minutes in that time, Chicago came back in with intent to push the pace, catching the Heat off guard.
What resulted was Miami committing four early turnovers and making just one of their eight field goal attempts to start. One could attribute the slow start to the team missing Norman Powell on Saturday night due to “personal reasons,” as well as Tyler Herro and Davion Mitchell.
Still, it would be a disappointing first quarter for the Heat, as the Bulls scored 14 points in fastbreak situations and 16 in the paint.
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The second quarter was a stabilizing period for Miami as they would get into some rhythm offensively with some uplifting play by Jaime Jaquez Jr., Simone Fontecchio, Myron Gardner, and Pelle Larsson. After a slog in the first quarter, the Heat were playing more to their speed in the second, with the second unit giving the team the energy needed to get the upper hand on Chicago.
As Erik Spoelstra and Bam Adebayo have been stressing, disruption on defense will lead to offense, as the second period displayed that, leading to a 38-point quarter, forcing nine turnovers.
One key storyline was that Kel'el Ware was one of the first players to come off the bench, but only played a middling three minutes and 11 seconds. Turned out to be his only stretch the whole game.
Close but no cigar for the Heat against the Bulls
Stop me if you've heard this one before. Miami got off to a good start with a 4-0 run, but Chicago called an early timeout with not even two minutes played in the period. The Bulls would then get off to a scorching run, scoring 10 straight to cut down the lead.
Get the gist? The same happened to start the game in the first quarter, with Chicago gaining some perspective and focus after the first few minutes of the half. The rest of the third quarter continues a worrying trend the Heat have had for some time, which is coming out flat to start the second half.
The Bulls played the type of game they wanted to, recording 13 more points in fastbreak situations, shooting close to 60 percent from the field and eight of 12 from deep. Miami's numbers were significantly worse, shooting 31.8 percent from the field and just making one three out of 12 attempts.
Looking at the fourth quarter, the Heat would get out of their heads and play basketball when they're at their most successful, especially when it comes to the captain, Adebayo. Going into the final period, Adebayo had a quiet night with six points, but finished the game with 21, as there was even a stretch where he scored 12 straight points for the team.
Miami and Chicago would trade haymakers back-and-forth towards the end of the final frame, but it would be Ayo Dosunmu who stifled any momentum the Heat had, leading to a dagger three that gave him the assist to Matas Buzelis, ending the game.
At any rate, Miami is now 26-24 and looks to get the bad taste out of their mouths on Sunday night in the third straight game against the Bulls.