What we learned from the Chicago Bulls' demoralizing loss to the Miami Heat

Failure to box out late in the game cost the Bulls the game versus the Heat.

© Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bulls had a good chance to leave Miami with two wins against the Heat but will have to be content with just one, as they lost at the buzzer, 118-116, no thanks to another signature shot by Heat star Jimmy Butler. Here are two takeaways from the crushing loss.

Defensive mishap

With 12 seconds remaining and the game tied at 116-all, Jimmy Butler had the ball and ran it up the floor. Everybody on the Heat bench knew what was going to happen. Heck, everybody in the building knew that Butler—a man who has made a career out of taking and making clutch shots—was going to shoot the ball, come hell or high water.

Shoot it and make it, Butler did, as his jumper lifted the Heat past the Bulls, 118-116.

JIMMY BUTLER CALLED GAME ON THE #TissotBuzzerBeater ‼️

HEAT WIN 118-116 IN MIAMI. #TimeDefinesGreatness pic.twitter.com/q2zWqhN6Al

— NBA (@NBA) December 17, 2023

After the game, Bulls coach Billy Donovan said they should have sent an extra defender at the buzzer to get the ball out of his hands. But with the Heat not calling a timeout after they regained possession, Donovan said they didn’t have the opportunity to talk things through.

“We’ve got to be able to run and go trap him,” Donovan said “[Butler] obviously got to his spot late. We can certainly learn something from that.”

“Obviously, it's hard to get that into the guys at that moment in time. I think as guys gain more experience because if you do go at him with 3 or 4 seconds to go on the clock, you're generally going to be okay making one rotation. You're not dealing with a full clock. So that next guy probably has to shoot it. Butler obviously got to his spot,” Donovan added.

A poor job cleaning the glass

The Bulls had momentum on their side as they rallied from an 11-point deficit and took a 116-114 lead. But numerous defensive lapses, including failing to box out late in the game, doomed their chances of winning the match.

“There was a lot of stuff we could have done to help us win this game,” big man Nikola Vucevic said.

Numerous offensive rebounds and a costly turnover by DeMar DeRozan with under a minute to go in the game turned the tables on the Bulls.

"I've always said the stuff we can control, and certainly the blocking out and rebounding is something we can do a better job with," Donovan shared.

Chicago Bulls loses in heartbreaking fashion to the Miami Heat