Bulls 107, Heat 87
Carlos Boozer scored 27 points and Taj Gibson added 19 as Chicago dominated on the inside in an easy win over visiting Miami.
Luol Deng scored 20 points and Joakim Noah had 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Bulls, who outrebounded the Heat 49-27. Kirk Hinrich chipped in 13 points as Chicago won for the second time in eight games.
LeBron James had 21 points to lead Miami, which dropped its second straight game. Michael Beasley added 15 points off the bench as the Heat played without Dwyane Wade (flu) and Chris Andersen (personal).
Chicago jumped out to an early lead and kept the pressure on, shooting 55.6 percent in the first half and posting a 27-9 advantage on the glass to take a 58-44 lead into the break. The Bulls used a 9-1 run out of the half to stretch the lead over 20 points.
Tony Snell’s 3-pointer just over four minutes into the half made it a 25-point gap and Chicago settled for an 85-63 lead heading into the fourth. The Heat finally put together a run and cut it to 93-81 with 5:37 left, but Gibson buried a jumper and Deng stepped behind a screen for a 3-pointer to push it back to 98-81 with 3:58 remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Bulls had lost five in a row to Miami going back to last spring’s playoffs. … Andersen did not make the trip to Chicago but is expected to join the Heat on Saturday against the Timberwolves. … Chicago PG Derrick Rose (torn meniscus) was thought to be done for the season but opened the door earlier Thursday to a possible return should the Bulls make the playoffs.