10 observations: Bulls lose to Heat on Jimmy Butler's buzzer beater

Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich

MIAMI --- The Chicago Bulls lost to the Miami Heat 118-116 Saturday night at Kaseya Center.

Here are 10 observations:

---The Bulls have nobody to blame but themselves for this defeat, which occurred when Jimmy Butler buried a midrange jumper over Coby White at the buzzer. Three times in the final 3 minutes, 11 seconds, they allowed offensive rebounds and second-chance points. Those failures to secure rebounds doomed their quest to rally from an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit.

"That was the hugest part," coach Billy Donovan said. "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."

The Bulls led by two in the final minute but DeMar DeRozan, who finished with 27 points, had the ball stolen by Butler and Nikola Vucevic missed a left-handed shot on the final Bulls possession.

"I definitely could've gotten a better look out of it," Vucevic said. "I thought I had him on the initial (time) when I picked up my dribble. He kind of closed off and I should've taken one more dribble, been a little more patient. After one more dribble, I could've decided if I go left hand or spin to my right. It didn't end up being a great shot, a tough half-layup, half-left-hand hook shot. I definitely wish I could take that one back and make a better decision."

On Butler's game-winner, Donovan said the Bulls needed to trap.

"What's going to be a learning experience in that situation, especially when they're holding it for the last shot, we've got to run and go trap him," Donovan said. "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 OK 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."

---As expected, the Bulls played without Alex Caruso, who re-aggravated his sprained left ankle on Thursday when Nikola Vucevic stepped on Caruso’s foot. Caruso is walking without a limp and was in good spirits in the pregame locker room. Coach Billy Donovan said Caruso is starting from a higher baseline from when he first suffered the injury. “Hopefully a few days clears it up,” Donovan said. “We don’t anticipate him missing any major time.”

---Patrick Williams drew two fouls in the first 92 seconds and Torrey Craig replaced him 17 seconds later. Craig promptly sank two quick 3-pointers and split a pair of free throws to help the Bulls overcome a slow start.

---About that slow start: As hot as the Bulls came out on Thursday, the opposite occurred. The Bulls missed five of their first seven shots, including air balls from Nikola Vucevic and Ayo Dosunmu. They also matched their turnover total from the entire game on Thursday by the 4:38 mark of the first quarter, committing five. Defensively, the Heat scored 12 points in the paint early as Donovan burned two quick timeouts. It’s the ninth time this season the Bulls have trailed by double digits in the opening period.

---These two-game miniseries that the NBA started to popularize a few seasons ago emphasize adjustments. The Heat clearly emphasized putting Butler, who eased into Thursday’s game, into scoring situations, which forced the Bulls to make decisions on whether to double-team him. With the Heat initially scoring inside the paint, that then opened up their 3-point shot. The Bulls had massive issues containing Kevin Love, who sank 4-for-4 in the first quarter alone off the bench. Thirty of the Heat’s 36 first-quarter points came either in the paint or from beyond the arc.

---It didn’t stop there. Donovan burned a timeout a mere 13 seconds into the second quarter after another defensive breakdown led to a good look for Love, who buried his fifth 3-pointer. Dosunmu, who started for Caruso, followed Duncan Robinson off a Love screen. One small problem: Andre Drummond switched on the screen. Dosunmu tried to hustle back but then bit on a Love fake.

"We had some poor communication on Love," Donovan said. "We needed to be better in terms of our communication switching the screens we were switching. Whether it was lack of communication or not honoring the call, we were just not getting it done. We had talked about it coming out of the timeout to start the second quarter. And that was the first possession of the second quarter. That's why the timeout occurred."

---To Williams’ credit, he didn’t let his early foul trouble stop him from being aggressive, which is what Donovan talked about pregame---again---as the key ingredient for him. Williams posterized Jaime Jaquez Jr. on a dunk and also sank three 3-pointers as part of a 13-point first half. Williams finished with a season-high 25 points.

---Craig matched his season-high with 16 points---all before halftime. In fact, Craig exited for good at the 1:07 mark of the second quarter when he suffered a right foot injury. Craig immediately retreated to the locker room after Coby White replaced him. Given that the Bulls already played without Caruso, losing Craig, particularly on a night he was hot, dealt another blow.

---White missed his first five shots and didn’t score his first field goal until the 7:02 mark of the third quarter. He also missed his first five 3-point attempts before burying two in 21 seconds sandwiched around a DeMar DeRozan steal early in the fourth quarter. White later added two more 3-pointers to extend his franchise record with at least three 3-pointers to 14 straight games.

---The Bulls endured a disastrous end to the third quarter after taking a 74-67 lead with 5:53 left. The Heat closed the quarter on a 24-6 run, aided by more defensive breakdowns by the Bulls. The Heat kept trying to get White switched onto Butler, often to good success. Butler finished 10-for-11 from the free-throw line as part of his 28 points. Beyond Butler attacking White on any switch, the Bulls again started to lose 3-point shooters.

Click here to follow the Bulls Talk Podcast.