Takeaways & Player Grades: Chicago Bulls 125, Miami Heat 118

No Coby White.
No Josh Giddey.
No Nikola Vucevic.
No Tre Jones.
No Jalen Smith.
No Zach Collins.

Yet, the Chicago Bulls finally beat the Miami Heat, 125-118. What a freakin' weird night!

BY THE WAY ... THE CHICAGO BULLS MADE A TRADE AFTER THE GAME!

3 Takeaways

Sending an Early Message

The Chicago Bulls came into the evening with seven players ruled out on the injury report. Tre Jones and Zach Collins were the usual suspects, but several other key contributors joined them as the Bulls continue this stretch of four games in five days. Josh Giddey and Coby White were ruled out for injury management purposes, while Nikola Vucevic was given a rare rest day. Big man Jalen Smith was also stuck in street clothes, as the versatile frontcourt player was forced to leave the Bulls' Thursday night game with a calf strain.

This left Chicago with only eight full-time roster members available, as well as its three players on two-way contracts. Head coach Billy Donovan was clearly going to have to get creative, and that's exactly what he did when deciding to start the night small. Instead of going with Lachlan Olbrich, the only center available, he put Patrick Williams on Bam Adebayo to begin the night. Ayo Dosunmu, Kevin Huerter, Isaac Okoro, and Matas Buzelis made up the rest of the starting lineup.

Dalen Terry, Jevon Carter, and Julian Phillips would be the next three Bulls to enter the game, only for Olbrich and fan-favorite Yuki Kawamura to round out the 10-man first-quarter rotation. To say it was an unusual sight would be an understatement!

Nevertheless, what proved even more unusual was how competitive the Bulls were without their Top 3 leading scorers. Yes, Billy Donovan was forced to call a timeout after the Bulls committed three turnovers in less than a minute of action, but whatever the head coach said worked. The Bulls proceeded to go on a 12-0 run to take the early 12-3 lead. From there, they were off to the races ... literally.

Chicago won the first quarter 31-25 and shot 50.0 percent from the field. The large majority of their damage was done inside, which was encouraging to see after their befuddling 9-25 shooting effort in the paint during Thursday's first half. A big part of this success was because of the Bulls' ability to get ahead of the Heat in the open floor. They held a 14-2 advantage in fastbreak points by the time the opening quarter came to a close.

Even though Miami would punch right back in the second quarter, the hot start foreshadowed what would be a valiant effort from a ragtag Bulls team.

Overcoming Turnover Trouble

While the Chicago Bulls were clearly up for the challenge, they looked destined to fall short because of their inability to control the basketball. The absence of their two primary ball-handlers was painfully apparent, as five players ended the night with multiple turnovers. Matas Buzelis, who was attempting to carry more of the offensive workload, was the biggest culprit. The second-year forward coughed up the ball a total of eight times, and seven of those mistakes came in the first half alone.

Overall, the Bulls finished the game with a season-high 24 turnovers, which Miami turned into 25 points. They were especially sloppy to start the fourth quarter, giving up five times to help Miami gain serious momentum.

To their credit, however, the Bulls somehow didn't let this take them out of the game. They were able to ramp up their own defensive pressure and even the playing field a bit, most notably forcing several offensive fouls in the fourth quarter. Dalen Terry and Isaac Okoro each stepped in for a charge, while Yuki Kawamura's pesky on-ball defense resulted in a hand to the face.

When it mattered most, the Bulls were also able to finally control the basketball. They did not commit a turnover in the final 5:59 of play. Ayo Dosunmu was arguably the biggest reason why, as the Bulls repeatedly put the ball in his hands to help set up the crunchtime offense (more on that in a second).

The Bulls' lights-out shooting in the third quarter also feels worth noting. Scoring 35 points on 13-22 shooting is one way to ensure your mistakes hurt a lot less. They went 8-12 from behind the arc in the quarter, surpassing their total made threes from the first two quarters combined. Without that hot shooting stretch, this game could have ended a lot differently.

Another Ayo Masterpiece

AYO, DOS, TRES!

Make that three excellent performances against the Miami Heat this season for the Chicago Bulls' most valuable trade chip. The guard finished the night with a season-high 29 points on 11-16 shooting from the field, and he scored 23 of those points in the second half!

He turned what was a relatively quiet first half into a second-half explosion, steering the Bulls to victory with a dominant fourth-quarter showing. Similar to what we saw one night ago, the Heat didn't have a single body who could stay in front of Dosunmu in transition or in the halfcourt. He ended up scoring or assisting on 15 of Chicago's last 19 points of the night.

23 of @AyoDos_11's season-high 29 points came in the second half 🔥 https://t.co/1mjAT5MkaT pic.twitter.com/Sm4JKAbzvW
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 1, 2026

As impressive as his blazing speed continued to be, I was honestly left most impressed with his command of the game. Bam Adebayo was on the cusp of a full takeover, but Dosunmu grabbed the steering wheel. He made the right play possession after possession, and it continues to make you ponder what his immediate future might hold.

Are the phones ringing off the hook (or for the youngsters, vibrating off the desk)? If so, are the Bulls answering, or are they starting to debate how much to offer in free agency?

Chicago Bulls Player Grades

Yuki Kawamura of the Chicago Bulls — Jan 31, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Yuki Kawamura (8) brings the ball up the court as Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) defends during the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Yuki Kawamura – A++++
Stats: 6 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL

Yuki Kawamura's Chicago Bulls debut was as fun as everyone wanted it to be. The guard made a legitimate difference off the bench with his high-intensity play, so much so that Billy Donovan even had him on the floor in the closing minutes.

Easily his best play came early in the fourth quarter, where he nailed a 3, assisted a Buzelis dunk, picked up his two steals, forced an offensive turnover, and won a jump ball. Yes, you read that last part right.

Was the performance truly worthy of the grade listed above? I'm pretty sure that's the only grade allowed when you win a jump ball as the shortest player in the NBA.

Ayo Dosunmu – A
Stats: 29 PTS, 9 AST, 8 REB, 2 STL

See above ...

Isaac Okoro – A-
Stats: 20 PTS, 3 AST, 1 STL

In unexpected fashion, Isaac Okoro stepped up on the offensive end with the Bulls missing their Top 3 leading scorers. He was extremely aggressive around the rim, shooting 7-12 from the field and going 4-6 from the free throw line. You need to be physical against this Heat defense, and Okoro was exactly that.

Dalen Terry – B
Stats: 9 PTS, 7 AST, 3 REB

On the outside looking in of the rotation for much of the year, Dalen Terry was eager to make his presence felt tonight. He was one of the team's better ball movers tonight, and he also played some pesky defense.

Lachlan Olbrich – C
Stats: 2 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST

Considering he only played 8 minutes, he probably isn't worthy of a grade ... but I was impressed with his hook shot over Bam Adebayo! It was only the second basket of his young NBA career.

Matas Buzelis – C-
Stats: 21 PTS, 8 REB, 4 AST

Matas Buzelis turned the ball over 8 times in easily the sloppiest game of his career. However, he did have a couple of very nice buckets, including the three-point dagger in the final seconds. The chase-down block he had on Nikola Jovic was also awesome.