Miami @ Chicago preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 26, 2017 ) Miami 100, Chicago 93

The Chicago Bulls dropped two meetings with the Miami Heat earlier this season, but they were a very different team at the time. The Bulls welcomed back Zach LaVine over the weekend and seek their third consecutive victory when they host the streaking Heat on Monday afternoon.

LaVine had 14 points in his first game in 11 months and Nikola Mirotic - who missed both meetings with Miami in November as he recovered from facial fractures - returned from a two-game layoff to add 16 points in 22 minutes in Chicago's 107-105 win over Detroit on Saturday. "Just [him] being there is a huge confidence for us," Mirotic told reporters of LaVine, who was coming off ACL surgery. "Because we all know he's been practicing hard, working hard to be back and to be with us. He's a great guy, he's a great teammate, and we were all looking forward for this." The Heat return to Chicago with the NBA's longest winning streak at seven in a row - the latest a 97-79 triumph over Milwaukee at home Sunday afternoon. They held the Bucks to 31.6 percent from the field, a season low for a Miami opponent.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, FS Sun (Miami), NBCS Chicago

ABOUT THE HEAT (25-17): Goran Dragic led the way with 25 points in the win over Milwaukee as Miami picked up its first double-digit victory of the winning streak. "It was good to see us put together one of our better, more complete defensive efforts for the entire game," coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. Hassan Whiteside recorded his fourth straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and the 28-year-old big man has exactly four blocked shots in three of those four games.

ABOUT THE BULLS (16-27): Lauri Markkanen scored a team-high 19 points while making 4-of-7 from 3-point range in the win over the Pistons as he continues a hot stretch from the perimeter. The rookie from Arizona is 21-for-38 from beyond the arc over a five-game span, during which he is averaging 19.4 points, and he also saw the benefit of having the athletic LaVine back on the court. "It means a lot and it's especially nice to have Zach back," Markkanen told the media. "Just to see how he moves and how quick he is, how well he can shoot the ball. All around he's a great player and he's going to bring a lot to the team."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Chicago has tied a franchise record with seven straight games of at least 10 3-pointers.

2. Dragic averages 22 points while shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range against the Bulls this season.

3. Bulls PG Kris Dunn has at least eight assists in six consecutive games.

PREDICTION: Bulls 104, Heat 101