Even with Michael Jordan in the building, the Bulls managed to wilt under a Miami Heat rally Monday night at the United
Center.
Brian Grant scored 12 of his 18 points in the pivotal third quarter as the Miami Heat overcame a 17-point deficit to defeat the Bulls 90-83.
Jamal Crawford, who scored 72 points in the previous two games, had a season-high 12 assists. But he finished with just eight points on 3-of-16 shooting. The rest of the Bulls weren’t much better, shooting less than 40 percent.
As if all that wasn’t bad enough, the Bulls did it in front of Jordan. Chicago is 0-3 this season when Jordan is at the game.
Jerome Williams matched his season-high with 16 rebounds to go with 14 points. But it was little consolation to the Bulls, who blew their biggest lead of the season in a stunning meltdown.
The Bulls led by 17 points with 2:22 left in the first half before their game suddenly disintegrated into ugly mode. They didn’t make a field goal for a nearly five-minute stretch that spanned halftime, and Miami took advantage with a 15-2 run.
Dwyane Wade scored on a dunk worthy of his highlight reel, spinning around and slamming it in on the reverse side as the crowd oohed and aahed. He followed with a driving layup, and Rafer Alston added a 3-pointer to cut the Bulls’ lead to 45-33 at the half.
Up next
Bulls at
Timberwolves
7 p.m., Fox Sports Net, WMVP-AM 1000.
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Edited by the Sports staff of RedEye.
