The Chicago Bulls had a slight scare and won anyway.  There was some anxiety when Derrick Rose took a hard foul, but he returned unhurt, and scored 11 points in the 4th quarter to shut down any hopes of a Miami Heat rally.

The Heat played without Chris Bosh who sat out due to a strained calf muscle. The Bulls feasted in his absence and shot 46.5% in FG % and .500 from beyond the arc. Chicago had the offense going and it was too much for the Heat minus their big man. The Bulls rampaged to a 33-16 third period margin and won handily, 93-75.

Forward Mike Dunleavy scored 22 points, 19 in a hot third quarter where he shot 7-8 from the floor and made 3 trey’s.  Tonight he was in a zone and helped the Bulls to an 11-3 record on the road, the best road record in the East.

Jimmy Butler scored 17 points, F Taj Gibson had 15 filling in for Joakim Noah, who sat out the game with an injury.  Rose added 14 points. 

“No matter what the score is, I still have to be myself in the 4th quarter,” Rose said.  Luckily for Chicago, he was able to.

Former Bulls star, Luol Deng, now playing forward in Miami, had 17 points.  Veteran F Pau Gasol had a near double-double with 9 points and 9 rebounds for Chicago.

Bulls injury note:  Doug McDermott will miss between 6-8 weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.