Bulls' season ends in ugly fashion with a 112-91 loss to the Heat in play-in tournament

(670 The Score) This time, the Bulls were blown out in their win-and-get-in-the-playoffs game.

Chicago’s season came to an end with an ugly 112-91 loss at Miami on Friday evening in a play-in tournament game in which the No. 8 seed in the East was at stake. It marked the second straight year that the Bulls lost to the Heat on the road in the final stage of the play-in round with a playoff berth on the line. In 2023, the Bulls held a three-point lead in the final minutes before the Heat rallied for the win with a late spurt.

It was a much more humbling outcome for Chicago in the rematch. The Bulls came out hot in the opening minutes but later went on a scoreless drought of 5 minutes, 11 seconds as the Jimmy Butler-less Heat took control in the middle of the first quarter and never relinquished the lead. The Bulls later trailed 70-60 with three minutes left in the third quarter, but the Heat closed the frame with a 12-0 run to put the game out of hand. The Bulls had four turnovers in a 63-second stretch late in the third quarter as they faltered.

Bulls star DeMar DeRozan had a team-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting, but the Heat nonetheless made life difficult for him. Heat center Bam Adebayo, one of the NBA’s best defenders, guarded DeRozan to open the game and at various times throughout it. The Heat also often sent a second defender at DeRozan, daring other Bulls to make them pay.

They didn’t. Chicago shot just 34.4% overall and was 8-of-31 on 3-pointers at the end of the third quarter. The Bulls shot 38.0% for the game.

After scoring a career-best 42 points in a win against the Hawks in a play-in round opener Wednesday, Bulls guard Coby White struggled, scoring 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting and committing four turnovers. Fellow Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu had 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting.

The Bulls went 39-43 in the regular season before beating the Hawks in their play-in opener to get within one win of the playoffs. With their loss, the Bulls have now missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons and in six of the past seven seasons.