MIAMI — One team was lacking quality, the other quantity, in that classic NBA matchup of injury vs. illness.
So shorthanded over shorterhanded it was Saturday night, as the Miami Heat rolled past the Chicago Bulls 118-92.
Again playing in the injury absences of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Markieff Morris, this Heat this time also were without emerging forward Caleb Martin, who was placed in NBA health-and-safety protocols shortly before tipoff.
That, of course, is a subject the Bulls are more than familiar with, those protocols on Saturday leaving them without DeMar DeRozan, Derrick Jones Jr., Coby White, Javonte Green, Matt Thomas, Ayo Dosunmu and Stanley Johnson.
There still were ample leading men and difference makers, with the Bulls arguably with the game’s singular star, Zach LaVine closing with 33 points.
But with Kyle Lowry playing set up man, Duncan Robinson draining 3-pointers (and other shots) and Dewayne Dedman taking charge in the middle, the Heat closed out their three-game homestand at 2-1, with a four-game trip now to follow.
Lowry and Dedmon both finished with double-double, Lowry with 16 points and 14 assists, Dedmon with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Robinson, who drained five 3-pointers closed with 26 points. The Heat also got 17 points from Tyler Herro.
Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday night’s game:
1. COVID concerns: A game after scoring a career-high 28 points, Martin shortly before tipoff was placed in the NBA’s health-and-safety protocols.
With contact tracing no longer in place, it means a positive coronavirus test.
Under league rules, Martin either must quarantine for 10 days or produce consecutive negative test results 24 hours apart. Such a timetable likely would sideline Martin for at least five games.
“We just need to wait for a little bit more direction from the league, which they will give us some direction, and then we’ll take the next step,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
2. More twists: With Martin out, Gabe Vincent shifted into the starting lineup, in order to again allow Herro to remain in a sixth-man role.
Herro was followed off the bench by Max Strus and then Omer Yurtseven.
That left Udonis Haslem and Marcus Garrett, back from G League assignment, as Spoelstra’s only other available options.
The supporting player who stepped up the most arguably was Dedmon, who dominated the matchup in the middle against long-time Heat nemesis Nikola Vucevic.
3. Pure point: Lowy was practically flawless in the first half, with 12 assists, nine points — and no turnovers at the intermission.
The 12 assists were one off Jason Williams’ franchise record for a first half. Lowry became the first Heat player with 10 or more assists in a first half since Gary Payton in 2007.
The Heat outscored the Bulls by 20 in the first half with Lowry on the court.
Lowry checked out for good with 1:23 left in the third period with the Heat single-game assist record remaining 19 by Tim Hardaway against the Milwaukee Bucks on April 19, 1996.
4. Milestone, touchstones: The game was the 174th consecutive regular-season appearance for Robinson, tying the franchise record set by Glen Rice from 1992 to ‘94.
-”It’s pretty amazing,” Spoelstra said. “Nobody could have predicted this, when he first came through our doors, that he would be breaking records in our franchise. It just shows you his level of consistency, persistence.”
Robinson then opened 4 of 5 from the field, including 3 of 4 on 3-pointers, closing the first quarter with 13 points.
“Availability, they say in this league, is a great ability,” Spoelstra said. “And he’s been able to show that durability and do what he does at an extremely high level. He’ll probably say this is nothing, but it is something, and I’m glad that it is being acknowledged.”
5. Threes fall: Robinson was not alone with his 3-point stroke. A game after tying the franchise record of 22 3-pointers in Wednesday night’s victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Heat were 9 of 14 from beyond the arc in Saturday’s first quarter.
That total including a buzzer beater from Herro at the end of the period that put the Hat up 39-25 going into the second.
The Heat then moved to 13 of 23 from beyond the arc by halftime, when they led 65-52.
