Bulls coach Tim Floyd admitted he hesitated to put Ron Mercer in for Fred Hoiberg with 3:12 remaining Thursday against the Miami Heat, and the emotion was understandable.

Hoiberg had just hit two long jumpers to help stop a Miami run, and Mercer had been in a two-game slump. But Mercer went 3-for-3 from the field and hit both free-throw attempts down the stretch to lead the Bulls to a 78-72 victory. Mercer scored a team-high 19 points.

''I hesitated, but we wanted Mercer in the game down the stretch,'' Floyd said.

Mercer was 7-for-28 (.250) the previous two games, averaging just nine points. Floyd pointed out Mercer wasn't getting to the free-throw line enough, and Mercer responded by attacking the basket and connecting on 7 of 8 attempts from the line.

''He told me before the season about attacking the basket,'' Mercer said. ''I just wanted to play hard.''