Despite missing six of their top eight players on Saturday, the severely undermanned Chicago Bulls stunned the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center. Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu, finally elevated to a starting role, took the game into his hands late. Dosunmu almost singlehandedly helped Chicago rally in the fourth quarter on Thursday night, before the Heat closed them out by a possession, 116-113.
The 6-foot-4 University of Illinois and Morgan Park product scored 23 points on 9-of-9 shooting from the field (5-of-5 shooting from the 3-point line) in the second half of the bout alone.
Ayo Dosunmu Saves The Day Against The Heat
The Bulls got off to rocky starts in both halves, but Donovan called quick timeouts to cool things down. The breaks prompted a 12-0 run in the first quarter and a 10-0 run in the third.
Dosunmu’s season-most 29 points — plus nine assists and eight rebounds — paced a Chicago squad missing (in order of importance) Josh Giddey, Coby White, Tre Jones, Jalen Smith, Nikola Vucevic and Zach Collins.
Billy Donovan started 6-foot-6, do-nothing $90 million forward Patrick Williams at center against Bam Adebayo and it didn’t even hurt Chicago that much (until the second half)!
Former Chicago Defensive Player of the Year center Joakim Noah, who lives in Miami, was in the stands to take in the action. He got really, really into things when the game was locked up.
"Somebody's going to LIV after this." Joakim was getting after it in the stands ? pic.twitter.com/hKBKiDEFL3
— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) February 1, 2026Donovan gave significant minutes to scrubs like Jevon Carter, Dalen Terry and two-way point guard Yuki Kawamura in the first quarter. Kawamura was making his Bulls debut — and thus became the shortest player in the franchise’s history at 5-foot-7. Even without any of Chicago’s top three options at center available, the Bulls somehow built out a 31-25 first-quarter edge over Miami, in Miami.
The Heat responded with a brutal 38-25 second-quarter beatdown. Midway through the second half, Billy Donovan trotted out an absolutely tiny five-man unit, comprising Terry, Carter, Dosunmu, Isaac Okoro (none of whom are taller than 6-foot-4) and 6-foot-8 forward Matas Buzelis. In fairness, he was countering an undersized (but slightly bigger) Heat lineup of Kasparis Jakucionis, Pelle Larsson, Andrew Wiggins, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic.
Miami led at the break, 63-56.
In the second half, a series of runs kept things fairly close. With 3:37 remaining in the fourth quarter, the game was knotted up, 106-106, thanks to a 9-2 Heat tear.
That’s when Dosunmu went to work, scoring all of the Bulls’ next 10 points across the next 2:06 of action.
Dosunmu was absolute money down the home stretch. He leaned heavily on drives to the hoop, although he also went 5-of-6 from distance.
Bucket after bucket in crunchtime‼️ @AyoDos_11 t.co/gcCU12T82D pic.twitter.com/dvBrEdJHjq
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 1, 2026Buzelis played the role of closer late, with the score once again tied at 116-116. A Dosunmu steal yielded a dish to a leaking Buzelis for a running layup. A Kawamura board led to a pass to Dosunmu, who again found Buzelis for a triple. Buzelis and Williams iced some late free throws, and that was all she wrote.
A whopping three Bulls players scored 20 or more points. Beyond Chicago kids Dosunmu and Buzelis (who chipped in 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field but coughed up a career-worst eight turnovers as he struggled with his handle), swingman Isaac Okoro notched just his second-ever 20-plus point game as a Bull.
Kawamura chipped in six points on 2-of-4 field goal shooting, grabbed three hard-fought boards, dished out a pair of dimes, and swiped two steals. His energy made a huge difference in helping Chicago quickly get back into the game early in the third frame.
Dalen Terry also had a shockingly competent game, chipping in a whopping seven assists against two picks in nearly 29 minutes off the bench.
The one big blemish? Chicago coughed up an alarming 23 turnovers, leading to 25 Miami points.
Next up for Chicago is the club’s third and final tilt against the Heat in this four-day, home-and-home stretch, a Kaseya Center rematch on Sunday.
Full Box Score
Jim Rassol-Imagn ImagesHence then, the article about ayo strikes last undermanned bulls stun heat late 125 118 january 31 2026 was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Ayo Strikes Last! Undermanned Bulls Stun Heat Late, 125-118 — January 31, 2026 )
Also on site :
- Mikel Arteta says Arsenal showed how much they want success with Leeds win
- Liverpool vs Newcastle live: Ibrahima Konate returns to ease Reds’ injury crisis ahead of Premier League clash
- Leo Alcantara Breaks Own Alabama School Record With 8:50.19 1000 Free As Alabama Sweeps Auburn