Miami Heat vs. Chicago Bulls: Heat Looks Vulnerable After Loss to Derrick Rose-less Bulls, Ends Winning Streak

For 27 games, LeBron James and the Heat looked unstoppable.

They were firing on all cylinders in a display of offense and teamwork that were leaving fans thrilled, opponents stunned and highlight reels filled with images of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh passing, dunking and sprinting all over and around the court. A remarkable streak that started on Feb. 3 and lasted until nearly the end of March, the Heat rode an amazing wave of momentum that helped them lock up the Southeast Division and a playoff seed before the last month of the season had even started.

Everything was going their way...and then, they ran into Chicago on Wednesday.

The Bulls did what no other NBA team could do for 27 games and two months, defeating the Heat 101-97 and snapping Miami's historic winning streak.

How was it possible? How did the Bulls, shorthanded and injury-riddled, beat a Miami team that has been playing out-of-this-world basketball for two months straight?

Well, for one thing, the Bulls simply seemed unafraid of the dominating Heat.

An old foe that has been primed to challenge them for years, the Bulls were missing Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, two of their best players. But they had All-Star Luol Deng, a relentless Carlos Boozer and a stiff, physical defense that challenged Miami on every possession. And they had the presence of mind to realize that they needed to get ahead and stay ahead early on the defending world champions.

Chicago set the tone early when they jumped out to a 13-2 lead early in the first quarter, where they jumped out to a 32-22 lead to end the first. The Heat outscored the Bulls 24-23 in the second and 22-14 in the third, but ultimately, the Heat finally fell in the fourth, outscored 29-32. During the streak, Miami has made a habit of coming from behind to rally in the fourth quarter for some daring victories, rallying against Cleveland, New York, Detroit, Charlotte and Boston, to win, largely thanks to late-game heroics from James.

Unfortunately for Miami, the well ran dry on late-game comebacks against Chicago, who played a physical game with Miami all game long, particularly on James. Even though the "King" scored 32 points, the Bulls stuck on him all game long, harassing James with full-contact defense that left him visibly frustrated, especially when he didn't get calls for those perceived fouls.

In particular, there were two defensive sequences that annoyed James. The first one came in the first quarter, where Kirk Hinrich took down James as he drove to the basket with two hands. The second one was when the Bulls' Taj Gibson apparently made contact with James' neck with only four minutes remaining in the game.

James tried to retaliate by bumping hard into Carlos Boozer on a screen, but referees whistled him for a Flagrant 1 foul. James normally gets the lion's share of the calls from the officials. When the Bulls, who are known for playing a rough, rugged style of defense, were given the benefit of the doubt, the continuation of their physical style of play left James flustered.

"Those are not basketball plays and it's been happening all year," James told reporters after the game. "I've been able to keep my cool and try to tell Spo, 'Let's not worry about it too much,' but it is getting to me a little bit."

The Heat have a lot to show for after the streak, having all but locked up first place in the East and now only having to worry about resting their players between now and Game 1 of the playoffs next month. However, the Bulls showed the chinks in the all-but-impenetrable armor that the league thought James and the Heat wore over the last few months. They can be gotten to. And with the East loaded with defensively tough playoff teams such as the Pacers, Bulls, Nets (a likely second-round opponent for Miami, should they get that far) Knicks and Celtics, Miami's second run to the Finals suddenly doesn't look quite as easy as it did a few games ago.