The Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls will now play on Jan. 31 after last Thursday’s game had to be postponed because of condensation on the court, the league announced Monday.
Heat-Bulls Had An Unplayable Surface
The Heat and Bulls were originally scheduled to play on Jan. 8, but that game was postponed due to an “unplayable” surface at the United Center.
Both teams went through shoot-around while the game was initially delayed.
Per Joel Lorenzi and Joe Vardon of The Athletic, “Water was visible on the court moments before the scheduled local 7 p.m. tip-off, and the situation deteriorated from there, with humidity levels nearly double what they are inside the arena for a typical basketball game, those sources said.”
The following has been released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/tVBu6uAc5o
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 12, 2026
A half hour into the delay, the conditions on the court only worsened.
Per The Athletic, “Two league sources said as of 7:30 p.m. CT, a half hour into the delay, the humidity inside the United Center was nearly 60 percent — it’s typically at 30 percent. The ice rink under the floorboards, there for the Chicago Blackhawks, was melting along the edges of the floor.
“Both teams were back in their locker rooms by 7:50 p.m. CT, many of them shaking their heads that the game may not be played. At 8 p.m. CT, brooms and towels were collecting so much water from the court that arena workers had to squeeze them over buckets.”
Teams Will Play Three Straight Games
This latest update means the teams are now scheduled to play three consecutive games against one another, and will both start a stretch of playing four games in five days later this month.
The Bulls were supposed to visit Miami for games on Jan. 30 and Feb. 1.
Those games, however, will now be played Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.
Chicago plays at Indiana on Jan. 28, the night before its now-rescheduled home game against Miami. The Heat, meanwhile, host Orlando on Jan. 28, then start the three-game set against the Bulls the next night.
Both the Bulls and Heat had off days on Jan. 9, but the Blackhawks had a home game scheduled against the Washington Capitals.
The scheduling conflict forced the NBA to find a later date for the Heat-Bulls game.
Miami remains a threat in the Eastern Conference about halfway through the season, sitting eighth overall with a 20-19 record, while Chicago is currently 18-20 and ranks 10th in the standings.
