Bulls dominate 2nd half to rally past reeling Heat

The four-time defending Eastern Conference champions are officially on the ropes.

At a critical point in their season when they could ill afford it, the Miami Heat suffered their biggest blown halftime lead of the year, squandering a 19-point advantage in an 89-78 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday.

After outscoring the Bulls 33-12 in the second quarter to take a 51-32 lead into the break, the Heat were outscored 33-8 in the third quarter, while managing only 27 points for the entire second half.

Pau Gasol led the way with 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Bulls, who orchestrated a 30-point turnaround in the second half. Taj Gibson added 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

Derrick Rose, meanwhile, posted 12 points, four rebounds and two assists on 5-of-15 shooting in his second game in as many nights following a six-week absence due to another knee surgery.

Rose, who's playing on a 20-minute limit at the moment, logged 20:22 before being pulled from the game for good midway through the third quarter.

With the victory, Chicago moved back into third place in the East, a half-game ahead of the Atlantic Division champion Toronto Raptors.

It wasn't all positive for the Bulls, however, as All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler sat out Thursday's game with a left calf injury.

As for the Heat, the loss dropped them 1.5 games (two losses) behind the eighth-place Brooklyn Nets and seventh-place Boston Celtics, as Miami now sits 10th.

Hassan Whiteside poured in 19 points and 16 rebounds in defeat, while Goran Dragic added 15 points and Michael Beasley chipped in with 13 off the bench.

Dwyane Wade's 20-percent (4-of-20) effort from the field matched the worst shooting performance of his career, minimum 15 field-goal attempts.