The Miami Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls, 100 - 88, at United Center on Friday evening. The Heat (17 - 30) checked in to Friday with only seven road wins in 24 games away from American Airlines Arena, but with a potential opportunity to steal a victory against a Bulls (23 - 25) squad currently besieged by internal spats between Rajon Rondo and team leaders Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade. Chicago head coach Fred Hoiberg had also made the suprising decision to bench the latter two to start the game in favor of Paul Zipser and Doug McDermott, putting the home team at a talent disadvantage to open the contest. Miami was able to capitalize, jumping out to a 33 - 24 lead after one quarter and then hanging on to outscore their hosts 67 - 64 the rest of the way. The temporary demotion seemed to affect Butler in particular, as he shot just 1 - for - 13 from the floor over 33 minutes. The Heat was also able to overcome the absence of Hassan Whiteside (ankle), as Willie Reed stepped up to tally 20 points, five boards, an assist and a steal. Goran Dragic's 26 points paced Miami, a total he supplemented with 11 assists, five rebounds and three steals. Dion Waiters continued his strong play with 19 points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal. Wayne Ellington was next with a bench - leading 14 points, which he supplemented with five boards, two assists, two steals and a block. Rodney McGruder totaled nine points, four boards and a trio of steals. Despite being relegated to the second unit, Wade's 15 points still served as the top score on the Bulls. He added six rebounds, three assists and two steals over 28 minutes. Zipser impressively took advantage of his starting opportunity, posting 14 points, five boards and a steal. Taj Gibson matched Zipser's point total and supplemented it with five rebounds, two assists, four blocks and a steal. Rondo had one of his more productive games, compiling 13 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals. McDermott registered nine points, five boards and two assists. The Heat return home to face the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night, while the Bulls remain home to take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday evening.
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 "PlayerStat(G,'Willie Reed') has 1 Assists ,has 20 Blocks ,has 5 3-pointers attempted ,has 1 3-pointers made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Dion Waiters') has 1 Assists ,has 19 Blocks ,has 5 3-pointers attempted ,has 1 3-pointers made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Goran Dragic') has 11 Assists ,has 26 Blocks ,has 5 3-pointers attempted ,has 3 3-pointers made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Wayne Ellington') has 2 Assists ,has 1 Blocks ,has 14 3-pointers attempted ,has 2 3-pointers made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Paul Zipser') has 1 Assists ,has 2 Blocks ,has 14 3-pointers attempted ,has 5 3-pointers made ,has 1 Field goals attempted ,has 1 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Taj Gibson') has 2 Assists ,has 4 Blocks ,has 1 3-pointers attempted ,has 5 3-pointers made ,has 1 Field goals attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Doug McDermott') has 2 Assists ,has 2 Blocks ,has 2 3-pointers attempted ,has 2 3-pointers made ,has 9 Field goals attempted ,has 5 Field goals made ,has 2 Free throws attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Jimmy Butler') has 13 Assists ,has 1 Blocks ,has 33 3-pointers attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Dwyane Wade') has 3 Assists ,has 28 Blocks ,has 15 3-pointers attempted ,has 6 3-pointers made ,has 2 Field goals attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Rajon Rondo') has 7 Assists ,has 1 Blocks ,has 1 3-pointers attempted ,has 1 3-pointers made ,has 1 Field goals attempted ,has 13 Field goals made ,has 7 Free throws attempted ,has 3 Free throws made ."]