Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade has leapt to the defence of teammate LeBron James in the wake of their 101-97 loss to the Chicago Bulls.

Having been on the receiving end of a number of heavy fouls throughout the match, James was punished for a flagrant foul when he reacted during the fourth quarter.

However, Wade believes that James should play that way more often.

"I'm surprised he hasn't done it before," said Wade. "A big guy like [James], no one really wants to see him start trying to inflict pain on other people. He plays the game the right way and it's unfortunate.

"He gets reffed like a guy that was in this Miami Heat jersey before, Shaquille O'Neal.

"It's tough, but that's why he is who he is. You've got to deal with it. Tonight, he decided to get back a little bit. I didn't think it was that bad, but he got called for it."

The defeat ended the Heat's 27-game winning streak.