CHICAGO — Jimmy Butler was looking for a breather, and looking for a friend.
So Goran Dragic stepped up in Friday night’s fourth quarter to help lift Butler and the Miami Heat to a 101-90 victory over the Chicago Bulls at the United Center.
Even with Butler scoring 25 points over the first three periods, the Heat found themselves up only two entering the fourth.
So as Butler sat, Dragic took over, on the way to his highest-scoring quarter of the season, with 20 points in the final period.
“He told me when I came in, ‘You need to be more aggressive,’ " Dragic said of Butler.
By the time Butler returned, the Heat’s lead was in double figures, on the way to the team’s fifth consecutive road victory and ninth victory in the last 10 games overall.
“I was just more aggressive, more involved,” Dragic said. “I was kind of mad at myself at halftime and just came out more aggressive.”
Butler closed with 28 points, Dragic 25, all after halftime, and Duncan Robinson 15, as the Heat improved to 3-0 in the three games center Bam Adebayo has missed with the knee tendinitis that has him sidelined.
Zach LaVine scored 30 points for the Bulls, supported by 20 from Lauri Markkanen.
The Heat’s two-game trip concludes Sunday at the Amway Center against the Orlando Magic
“We played together as a team,” Dragic said. “We’re defended better. Can’t wait to get Bam back.”
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Five Degrees of Heat from Friday’s game:
1. Dragon fire: The Heat took a 70-68 lead into the fourth quarter, with eight consecutive Dragic points later pushing the Heat to an 81-72 lead.
Dragic helped push the Heat to that lead as both Butler and LaVine started the fourth quarter on the bench.
When Dragic moved to 10 points in the fourth quarter, at a point Butler still was sitting and LaVine was back in the game, it lifted the Heat to a 86-76 lead.
It ultimately was Dragic’s 23rd 20-point game as a Heat reserve, passing Kevin Edwards’ previous franchise record of 22.
2. Butler attacks: This was not a night about filling the box score for Butler. This was abut fueling the offense until someone could consistently join him in the scoring column.
Butler was up to 20 points with 6:27 left in the third period, after completing a 3-point play that lifted him to 8 of 9 from the line.
3. From deep: Robinson moved to 5 of 8 on 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter, at a point the rest of his teammate were 6 of 24 from beyond the arc.
Robinson’s fifth conversion from the field was the 500th field goal of his career.
Friday’s performance came a night after he shot 3 of 12 in Thursday’s home victory over the Orlando Magic.
4. Brutal quarter: The Heat were held to 13 points in the second quarter, closing the period 3 of 18 from the field.
It was the lowest-scoring second period of the season for the Heat, who shot 1 of 7 on 3-pointers over the 12 minutes, in giving back all of an early 11-point lead.
Butler and Andre Iguodala both were 0 for 4 from the field in the quarter.
The Heat stood at .333 from the field at halftime, the Bulls .364, when the score was tied 42-42.
5. Precious moments: Chris Silva again played ahead of Precious Achiuwa in the Heat’s power rotation.
Silva made his first appearance in 26 games on Thursday night against the Magic, a game Achiuwa, the Heat’s 2020 first-round pick, played a team-low 4:33.
Silva and Achiuwa each three minutes in the first half, with Silva then getting the balance of minutes between the two from there.
