Bulls trail Heat 50-49 at halftime

By Fred Mitchell

MIAMI -- The Bulls trailed the Miami Heat 50-49 at the half Friday night at the American Airlines Arena.

Coach Vinny Del Negro started James Johnson and Taj Gibson at forwards; Brad Miller in the middle and Jannero Pargo and Kirk Hinrich at guards. Johnson led the Bulls with 14 first-half points. Gibson and Miller each had 8.

The Heat were led by Jermaine O'Neal with 17 points and Quentin Richardson with 14 at the intermission.

Miami led 28-22 at the end of the first period as Miami shot 59 percent from the field. Chicago native Richardson scored 12 first-period points to propel the Heat, who entered the game with a 1 1/2-game lead on the Bulls for the eighth playoff slot in the Eastern Conference.