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The box score said one thing. Bobby Portis said another.

Portis was the high scorer in the Bulls’ surprising 105-89 victory over the Heat on Wednesday. He tallied 26 points, and his fourth-quarter performance was remarkable. He made almost as many shots (7) as the entire Heat team (8).

So, Portis was asked after the game: Is Bobby back?

He smiled and took a pass.

“You can say it,” he replied. “I’m not a cocky guy.”

Especially after what has transpired this season, which started with Portis turning down a four-year extension from the Bulls.

When Portis has made news, it generally has been for an injury caused by bad luck — or one caused by what he believed was a dirty play.

Portis missed 23 games starting Oct. 26 with a sprained knee and another seven from Dec. 21 to Jan. 4 with a sprained ankle. After he tangled with Kevin Durant in Oakland on Jan. 11, he accused the Warriors star of purposely pulling down his right arm, causing an elbow injury that cost him one game.

“That wasn’t inadvertent,” Portis said at the time.

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The result was another stop-and-start, what some Chicagoans probably will experience the next time they turn the ignition on their parked cars.

“It has been tough going in and out of the lineup — play four games, sit out 20, play five, sit out six,” Portis said. “It’s kind of hard trying to catch a rhythm. When I first got hurt I was playing great basketball. I was scoring at will, getting to the hole, making my floaters. It’s tough having to play on the court to get in game shape. You can practice and do all the training, but nothing beats game shape.”

Said coach Jim Boylen: “Think about it: He’s had the ankle, the knee and the elbow all in the same season. These are like once every three years to have one of those. It says a lot of about his mental toughness, his makeup, his competitiveness. The Bulls across his chest means the world to him. It’s always fun when guys like that have success.”

The “Bulls across the chest” line makes some fans roll their eyes. Not Portis, though.

Asked what hearing that means to him, Portis told the story of being in the crowd for Game 3 of the Bulls’ playoff series against the Cavaliers in 2015. Portis was in Chicago for predraft workouts.

After Derrick Rose banked in a 3 to win Game 3, Portis recalled thinking: Damn, I want to be a Bull.

“I kind of jinxed myself,” he said Wednesday. “I never thought I’d fall to (pick No.) 22.”

But he did, and he’s still in Chicago with those five letters on his chest. Asked for the meaning in Boylen’s comment, he said it reflects a “guy who really loves playing for the Bulls, loves putting a jersey on each and every day.”

Said teammate Ryan Arcidiacono: “Bobby has always been the energy guy, bringing the juice. And he definitely brought it (against the Heat). Not only with his scoring but his defensive energy, his talking.”

Portis scored in a variety of ways — jumpers, hooks, layups — and had four rebounds and two assists in 24-plus minutes.

“The last two games, I don’t think he was so quick to shoot his 3 ball,” Boylen said. “He was playmaking from the top — dribble (handoffs), doing things in our offense that make people better instead of shooting 3s right off the bat. When you have that unselfish mindset, it comes back to you.”

Said Portis: “I don’t predicate my game on just making shots. I try to bring the energy each and every night. Play with passion, play with toughness.”

Portis said he talks to God before every game, asking for an injury-free night.

He’ll have to keep asking nicely. The Bulls need him on the court.

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Twitter @TeddyGreenstein