3 Key ways the Heat improved to beat the Bulls
3. Winning the fourth quarter
The fourth quarter has been an Achilles heel so far for Miami, with the most recent example happening last game in Chicago, where Miami lost a 10-point lead in a game they had under control a majority of the way.
But on Monday night, Heat fans were able to breathe and not worry about a lead being potentially slipping away.
The Heat entered the fourth quarter up 93-81 and held a firm grip of the lead as Chicago never cut their deficit to single digits.
Miami was able to grow their lead to as much as 24 in large part to the defensive intensity not falling on top of with playing clean basketball with only three turnovers being committed, one being a shot clock violation with seconds remaining in the game to run out the clock.
In a quarter where it's been a must for Butler and Adebayo to play most if not all of the fourth quarter with multiple leads getting away, Butler was able to take the final quarter off with Miami cruising and holding Chicago to their lowest point total for a quarter with 19. Butler needed only to play 29 minutes in this one.
An 18-point win is by far Miami's largest victory and the team's first win by double digits this season. Where most nights have been stressful, it has to feel great for the team to pick up a victory while playing a complete game.