Out for a Saturday afternoon stroll, Bill Cartwright happened upon a store selling artifacts from Africa.
Cartwright promptly asked the clerk for something lucky.
The wooden elephant necklace he left with seemed fitting, given that the Bulls left this land of pristine beaches with two tons of trouble.
Not only did the Bulls drop to 3-29 on the road following Miami’s 100-90 victory at American Airlines Arena, the Heat passed them percentage-wise in the standings.
The Bulls’ reward is a Sunday practice after playing four games in five nights and eight in 12.
For the third straight game, the Bulls collapsed in the third quarter. They surrendered a 20-6 run to watch a one-point halftime lead become a 67-55 deficit.
Eddie Jones, returning after missing four games with a strained groin, had 10 of his team-high 23 points in the quarter. This is the same Jones with whom the Bulls had a dalliance at the trade deadline but didn’t pull the trigger.
In the fourth, Fred Hoiberg shook off a vicious fall after a flagrant foul on Brian Grant to hit two free throws as part of a four-point Bulls possession that highlighted a 13-2 run.
But trailing 89-83, the Bulls allowed Malik Allen to slip free for an open 15-footer with 2:48 remaining.
Allen added two free throws after a Jalen Rose miss. After an offensive foul on Rose, Travis Best scored on a breakaway three-point play with 1:56 to play that fouled Rose out.
“The will to play with excitement is something we’re lacking,” said Rose, who scored 31.
The loss wasted Eddy Curry’s career-high 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting. Curry is shooting 64 percent over his last 11 games.
The Bulls had a season-low 10 assists and missed 16 free throws to shoot 59 percent from the line.
“Absolutely crippling,” Cartwright said.
One night after scoring 20 points, Jay Williams went 1-for-10 and scored three points.
