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Stumbling Heat welcome Bulls to South Beach

Mar 6, 2011 - 4:00 PM (Sports Network) - A pair of Eastern Conference heavyweights jockey for playoff position Sunday afternoon in the shadow of South Beach when the Miami Heat host the Chicago Bulls.

The Southeast Division-leading Heat and Central-leading Bulls are in a virtual dead-heat for the second spot in the East, three games behind Boston.

Chicago took the opener of a two-game trek through Florida by beating Orlando, 89-81, on Friday. MVP candidate Derrick Rose finished with 24 points in that one as the Bulls used a dominant second quarter to gain control, then maintained the lead in the second half to beat the Magic, who happened to be coming off a win over the Heat.

Bulls reserve center Omer Asik did a remarkable job battling Dwight Howard in the paint. While the rookie from Turkey got into foul trouble, he helped Joakim Noah limit Howard's offensive opportunities and pulled down 13 rebounds -- including five offensive boards.

Carlos Boozer collected nine rebounds to go with 12 points, while Noah had seven boards. Chicago ended up with a 50-30 rebounding advantage, which led to a 23-6 margin in second-chance points and its fourth win in five games.

"I think we're gelling together pretty well," said Chicago's Kyle Korver.

The Heat, who are opening up a six-game homestand tonight, dropped their third straight in San Antonio on Friday, getting blistered by the Spurs, 125-95. Tony Parker returned early from a calf strain in that one to score 15 points, as San Antonio shot the lights out in its 22nd straight home victory.

The Spurs buried a franchise-record 17 three-pointers en route to their fifth win in six games overall.

LeBron James scored 26 points, Dwyane Wade had 19 and Chris Bosh 17 to lead Miami, but the Heat fell to 1-4 in their last five as many observers questioned the team's toughness and fortitude.

Just one night after blowing a 24-point lead in a shocking loss to the Magic the Heat traveled to the Alamo City and came out limp against the streaking Spurs.

"This is a team that's clicking on all cylinders right now," James said of the Spurs. "Everyone on the team has confidence, Tim Duncan all the way down to the last guy off the bench. We saw tonight why they are the best team in the league."

The Heat are a dismal 1-8 against the NBA's top five teams, including two losses to the Bulls, although both of them were win the Windy City. Miami, which is 22-7 at home, will also face the Trail Blazers, Lakers, Grizzlies, Spurs and Thunder on its residency.