Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls Picks and Prediction for Thursday January 8 2026

By: Eddie Kline Updated 01/21/2026, 02:39 PM ET

Heat Preview

NBA TV will feature a battle between the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls from the United Center. For other NBA action see our NBA Predictions. The Heat (20-17) have dropped 11 of their first 18 road games and are a half-game out of fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings. On Tuesday, Miami committed 17 turnovers and shot a frigid 36 percent from the floor during a 122-94 road loss against Minnesota.

Norman Powell led Miami with 21 points on 9-for-17 shooting and dropped four dimes. Tyler Herro scored 19 points (7-15 FG) and secured nine rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench. Andrew Wiggins added ten points and four boards for the Heat, who missed 25 of 37 three-point attempts.

Bulls Preview

The Chicago Bulls are a game above .500 at home and are sitting in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Bulls (17-20) rank in the bottom third of the league in defensive efficiency and are surrendering 121.6 points per contest. Last night, Chicago was outscored by 16 points during the fourth quarter of a 108-93 road loss against Detroit.

Ayo Dosunmu scored 24 points on 10-for-15 shooting and dished out three assists in 25 minutes off the Chicago bench. Matas Buzelis and Nikola Vucevic scored 20 points apiece for the Bulls, who outrebounded the Pistons by a 45-39 margin.

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Heat vs Bulls Pick

Chicago G Josh Giddey is dealing with a hamstring injury and will be re-evaluated in a couple of weeks. These two teams rank in the top three of the NBA in tempo and the Bulls struggle to get stops. Look for the Heat to win on the road in a game that goes over the total. Final Score Prediction, Miami Heat win 128-122.

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