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.
["TeamStat(G,'Bulls') has 25 Losses ,has 88 Total points ,has 24 Points in 1st quarter ,has 23 Points in 2nd quarter ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Heat') has 30 Losses ,has 100 Total points ,has 33 Points in 1st quarter ,has 20 Points in 2nd quarter ,has 24 Points in 3rd quarter ,has 17 Wins ."
 "PlayerStat(G, 'Rodney McGruder') has 9 Points, has 4 Total rebounds"
 "PlayerStat(G, 'Willie Reed') has 1 Assists, has 20 Points, has 5 Total rebounds, has 1 Steals"
 "PlayerStat(G, 'Dion Waiters') has 1 Assists, has 19 Points, has 5 Total rebounds, has 1 Steals"
 "PlayerStat(G, 'Goran Dragic') has 11 Assists, has 26 Points, has 5 Total rebounds, has 3 Steals"
 "PlayerStat(G, 'Wayne Ellington') has 2 Assists, has 1 Blocks, has 14 Points, has 2 Steals"
 "PlayerStat(G, 'Paul Zipser') has 1 3-pointers made, has 2 Personal fouls, has 14 Points, has 5 Total rebounds, has 1 Steals, has 1 Turnovers"
 "PlayerStat(G, 'Taj Gibson') has 2 Assists, has 4 Blocks, has 1 Personal fouls, has 5 Total rebounds, has 1 Steals"
 "PlayerStat(G, 'Doug McDermott') has 2 Assists, has 2 3-pointers attempted, has 2 Free throws attempted, has 2 Free throws made, has 9 Points, has 5 Total rebounds, has 2 Turnovers"
 "PlayerStat(G, 'Jimmy Butler') has 13 Field goals attempted, has 1 Field goals made, has 33 Minutes played"
 "PlayerStat(G, 'Dwyane Wade') has 3 Assists, has 28 Minutes played, has 15 Points, has 6 Total rebounds, has 2 Steals"
 "PlayerStat(G, 'Rajon Rondo') has 7 Assists, has 1 3-pointers attempted, has 1 3-pointers made, has 1 Offensive rebounds, has 1 Personal fouls, has 13 Points, has 7 Total rebounds, has 3 Steals"]