Ayo Dosunmu's season-high 29 points lead short-handed Bulls past Heat, 125-118
Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins (22) drives to the basket as Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) and guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) defend during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in Miami. Credit: AP/Lynne Sladky
MIAMI — Ayo Dosunmu scored a season-high 29 points and the short-handed Chicago Bulls topped the Miami Heat 125-118 on Saturday night.
Dosunmu added nine assists and eight rebounds. Matas Buzelis scored 21 points and Isaac Okoro added 20 for the Bulls, who hit 20 3-pointers.
Pelle Larsson scored 22 and Bam Adebayo had 15 of his 21 in the fourth quarter for Miami, which tied the game four times in the final 3:37 but didn't reclaim the lead in any of those instances. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 20 for Miami.
The teams play again in Miami on Sunday. It'll be the first time since Baltimore and Houston in 1972 that two NBA teams play three consecutive games in the same regular season against one another; the Heat won at Chicago in a rescheduled game on Thursday night.
A pair of quick time-outs paid off for the Bulls.
Chicago coach Billy Donovan called time 1:16 into the game; his team immediately went on a 12-0 run. He called time again 1:25 into the third quarter with his team down 11; the Bulls responded with a 10-0 run that time, part of a turnaround that saw them take a 91-84 lead into the fourth.
The Bulls played with six of their nine highest-paid players — Josh Giddey (hamstring), Nikola Vucevic (rest), Zach Collins (toe), Coby White (calf), Jalen Smith (calf) and Tre Jones (hamstring), who make about $94 million combined this season — out of the lineup for various reasons.
Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., third from left, and forward Myron Gardner (15) defend Chicago Bulls guard Yuki Kawamura (8) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in Miami. Credit: AP/Lynne Sladky
Miami played without four of its top six salaries, with Norman Powell (personal reasons), Davion Mitchell (shoulder), Tyler Herro (ribs) and Terry Rozier (on leave related to federal gambling charges) all out for the night. They count for about $89 million of Miami's salary cap this season.
And Miami used backup center Kel'el Ware for only 3:11 of the first half, his night ending early.
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