CHICAGO _ The competition for worst quarter of this Bulls campaign is fierce, but Friday night's second quarter will be a season-long contender.
On a night the Heat prevailed 103-96, the Bulls shot 2-for-19 with nine turnovers and had four shots blocked while allowing Hassan Whiteside to throw down three dunks. Overall, the Heat outscored the Bulls 32-13 in the period.
So much for building on the momentum from Wednesday's victory over the Suns. And to think: The Heat played without the injured Goran Dragic, Dion Waiters and Tyler Johnson, so they were as shorthanded as the Bulls.
"That (second quarter) was the difference and it has been a tough quarter for us all year long," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "We just didn't have any resiliency in that quarter to fight through the tough times. Guys were standing around. Their physicality really bothered us in that quarter. We allowed them to take control."
The Bulls staged a furious, fourth-quarter rally in which they trimmed their one-time, 26-point deficit to four on two occasions. But Josh Richardson scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth to help the Heat stave off the comeback bid.
Curiously, the Bulls failed to get Justin Holiday a fourth-quarter shot after he had scored 27 points through three quarters. Holiday, who sank five 3-pointers, fell two points shy of his career high while grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds.
There were other ignominious moments. As the crowd erupted because the Heat missed two fourth-quarter free throws to win fans a promotion, Bam Adebayo snuck past Wendell Carter Jr. for the offensive rebounds _ and drew Carter's sixth foul. Carter finished with six points and four rebounds in just 14 minutes in his least impactful game.
Before the game, Dwyane Wade strolled into the United Center wearing a denim jacket over his No. 3 Bulls jersey, even though he now plays for the Heat.
Wade's wardrobe choice seemed doubly _ what's the word? _ odd or hilarious or bold given what Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said at the morning shootaround.
"I texted him the first time I saw him in a Bulls uniform and told him, 'This doesn't look right. This is wrong. I don't care what anybody says. I don't care where you're from,'" Spoelstra said of Wade's one-season foray to his hometown team in 2016-17. "We had so many battles with the Bulls over the years. To prepare for him, I put a $5,000 fine on anybody who went for a shot fake or fouled him on any one of his tricks."
Spoelstra then joked that young players younger than 25 still owe him money.
The Bulls owed Wade plenty of money _ roughly $48 million _ for his one-season detour that ended with a buyout, a brief reunion with LeBron James in Cleveland and then a return to his beloved Heat franchise.
Barring an unlikely playoff matchup, Friday marked Wade's next-to-last appearance in the arena he grew up dreaming about playing in one day. The future Hall of Famer has called his 16th season "one last dance."
After scoring 10 points, he is three shy of scoring 1,000 in his career against his hometown team and one-time, brief employer.
Now, the Bulls' shooting guard position is manned by Zach LaVine, who scored 24 points on 11-for-27 shooting and drew compliments from Wade for his play this season. LaVine returned the gesture.
"He's a top-five shooting guard of all-time, a future Hall of Famer," LaVine said. "He's an idol to dudes our age because we grew up watching him. He's a legend walking right now. He deserves this farewell tour. A dude coming from Chicago and me playing for the Bulls now, it's much respect and honor. We appreciate everything he has done for the game. He can still play. He can play a lot longer. He's just going out on his terms."
Jabari Parker rallied from missing his first eight shots to score 23 points for the Bulls, who still have yet to win two consecutive games this season.
