Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson (22) shoots over Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside (21) during the second half at American Airlines Arena. Picture: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

DPA/Los Angeles


It took the Chicago Bulls two quarters to figure it out. Spaniard Pau Gasol had 16 points with 15 rebounds and the visiting Bulls rallied from 19 down at halftime to charge past the Miami Heat 89-78 on Thursday.
“We weren’t playing well, we weren’t hustling back, we weren’t playing defence and we weren’t playing physical,” Gasol explained.
“We had to come out with a different mentality, a different mindset.  Once we began to get into them, get rebounds, contain them to one shot things turned around. We got momentum, we started getting shots and things changed.”
Reserves Aaron Brooks and Taj Gibson netted 14 points apiece while Derrick Rose added 12 in his second game since returning from knee surgery in February for the Bulls (47-22), who outscored their hosts 57-27 after the intermission to move back into the third playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.
Chicago had earlier appeared to be headed for their third straight road loss after hitting just 3-of-24 shots and getting outscored 33-12 in the second quarter, including a period-ending 29-6 blitz to trail 51-32 at the break.   
“It was embarrassing, just getting outcompeted,” Bulls centre Joakim Noah said. “(Teammate) Nazr Mohammad gave us a great halftime speech about playing together, playing for the right reasons and not getting down on ourselves. It really helped, because we came out with the right mindset.”
The Bulls regrouped, hit 14-of-21 shots and dominated the third quarter, 33-8, while holding the Heat to 3-of-22 to go ahead 67-59.
The gap grew to 12 in the final frame and the Bulls stopped a two-game slide.
“We haven’t figured out how to hold the fort when it goes like that,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, referring to the third-quarter collapse. “You have to put your foot on the pedal and you can’t take it off.”
“I don’t have an explanation for how we came out flat at the beginning of the third quarter. We’re all embarrassed when you’re in those situations.”
Elsewhere: Golden State Warriors 116, Portland Trail Blazers 105:
League MVP front-runner Stephen Curry fired in 19 of his 45 points in the decisive fourth quarter, shooting the league-best Warriors past the visiting Trail Blazers to avoid their first three-game slide of the season.
Curry made 17-of-23 field goals, and 8-of-13 triples to break his own NBA single-season record of 272 set two seasons ago.  
Klay Thompson added 26 points while Draymond Green had 11 with 14 rebounds for Golden State (64-15), which extended their home winning streak to 16.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and Damian Lillard added 20 for the Northwest Division Champ Blazers (51-28), who lost guard Arron Afflalo in the final frame with a right arm injury.