The Miami Heat didn't need LeBron James to run the Chicago Bulls through their usual second-half defensive gauntlet. Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade led their team to a 93-79 home win on Sunday as Miami won its fifth game in a row.
Bulls vs. Heat results: Miami rolls to 93-79 win without LeBron James
The Miami Heat pulled away from the Chicago Bulls in the third quarter and won with LeBron James out with a broken nose.
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James was a scratch for the Heat because of a broken nose, and Miami replaced their MVP with center Greg Oden, who in 13 minutes scored five points and grabbed five rebounds in his first start since 2009.
Bosh led Miami with 28 points on 10-for-23 shooting, but it was Wade and Mario Chalmers taking over the ball-handling duties the injured James left on the table. Wade scored 23 points, added seven assists and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Chalmers added 12 points and nine dimes.
As it often is for the Heat, the defense set them apart. Chicago's offensive woes peaked in the third quarter, when a 40-40 halftime tie turned into a 75-62 deficit heading to the final quarter. The Bulls suffered with six shot-clock violations, hit just 6-of-21 from three-point range and only shot 35.8 percent overall.
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Chicago also had 19 turnovers leading to 19 Miami points. While the Heat were far from clean without James by hitting 42 percent of their own shots, Erik Spoelstra’s team did take care of the ball, committing only eight turnovers.
Joakim Noah led Chicago with 20 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks, and Taj Gibson scored 20 points and nabbed 10 boards off the bench.
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