MIAMI – DeMar DeRozan scored 28 of his game-high 37 points in the second half as the visiting Chicago Bulls beat the Miami Heat 116-108 in the season opener for both teams on Wednesday.
Ayo Dosunmu had 17 points while Nikola Vucevic tallied 15 points and 17 rebounds for the injury-depleted Bulls, who played without starting guards Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine.
Only DeRozan and Michael Jordan have tallied 37 or more points for the Bulls in a season opener. Six-time NBA champion Jordan did it three times; 54 points (1989), 50 (1986) and 42 (1995).
“Not many guys in this league work as hard as I do,” said DeRozan, who averaged a career-best 27.9 points last season, after getting his 14th NBA season off to a flying start.
He made 14 of 22 shots on Wednesday, adding nine assists, six rebounds, two steals and a block for an all-around performance.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan was thrilled with the 33-year-old power forward’s contribution.
“His whole routine and what he does in the summer and the grind that he puts himself through, I think prepares him for these for these situations,” Donovan said. “And he takes great care of himself. He’s really, really cerebral. He’s a smart player.”
Jimmy Butler had 24 points and eight rebounds for Miami, while Tyler Herro, who moved into the starting lineup after being named Sixth Man of the Year last season, scored 23 points and Max Strus made five three-pointers off the bench and finished with 22.
Bam Adebayo had 12 points and nine rebounds, and reserve Dewayne Dedmon chipped in 11 points for last season’s Eastern Conference No. 1 seed.
Goran Dragic scored 12 points and Coby White had 10 for Chicago, which forced 19 turnovers and snapped a four-game losing streak against the Heat. The game was tied at 59-all at the half before Chicago’s offense came alive in a dominant third quarter.
The Bulls outscored Miami 37-27 in the period while shooting 15 of 22 (68.2 per cent) from the field and took a 96-86 lead into the final period. DeRozan had 19 points in the quarter.
Miami battled back and cut the deficit to four with 6min 19sec remaining but the visitors responded with seven straight points and Miami was unable to threaten in the closing minutes.
“They did everything right. We didn’t do too much right,” Butler said. “We did a lot of things wrong. They pulled away and we couldn’t get the lead back.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra added: “There’s things that we have to clean up defensively just to get back to our identity.” REUTERS
