Near the end of the Bulls' 90-77 loss to the Heat a few days ago, Miami called a 20-second timeout with 30.9 seconds to go in the game, with the Heat leading by 13 points. The entire Bulls team flipped out at the time, and jumped up and shouted some less than family friendly words in the direction of the Miami bench.
The timeout was a hot topic afterwards, and the Bulls players and coaches refused to let it go.
"That is something only done to disrespect the opponent," said Bulls forward Andres Nocioni.
"I don't know what they were doing," [Bulls coach Vinnie Del Negro] said. "It's fine. But, you know, there are 30 seconds to go in the game, they're up 15 or 13 or whatever. But, whatever. We'll play them again."
Oooh, I'm sure that the Heat are shaking in their high tops. Look, I realize that calling a late timeout with a big lead might get under your opponent's skin a bit, but the Bulls really went overboard with their reactions. I mean, leaping off the bench and screaming down the Heat for simply calling a timeout? Please. If the Bulls had played the last 10 minutes of the game with half as much passion, they likely wouldn't have seen a tie turn into a 13-point loss, while getting outscored 24-11 to finish the game in the process.
If you believe that this animosity towards the Heat will somehow last until February 12th of 2009, then go ahead and set the DVR, I guess. Because that's when these teams will meet again for what will likely be a completely uneventful grudge match.
Bulls Create Some Cheap Heat With Miami originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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