For the second year in a row, the Chicago Bulls’ season fizzled out in the Play-In Tournament. And for the second year in a row, their final game of the season was a loss to the Miami Heat. After taking down the Atlanta Hawks in the first Play-In, the Bulls got absolutely steamrolled by the Heat on Friday night.
Chicago only managed to score 37 points in the first half, and DeMar DeRozan had 15 of those points. They shot just 12-of-44 (27.3%) from the field and 5-of-24 (20.8%) from behind the three-point line. Meanwhile, Miami got the job done with some nice spread-out scoring across the board.
After the game, head coach BillyDonovan spoke about the Bulls’ scoring woes in the first half. (H/t Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune)
“DeMar was the only one that was scoring in that first half,” Donovan said. “It was hard for us when we were not scoring and they were scoring. I think our guys were trying to compete. There were plays where our guys were trying to mix it up a little bit and trying to get to the glass and trying to create second-chance opportunities. Our guys tried to battle through a very, very difficult shooting game.”
Another season, another brutal ending for the Bulls.
