Heat defeat Bulls to claim final East playoff berth
Tyler Herro had 24 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists as the Miami Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls 112-91 on Friday night, securing their playoff spot.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 21 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out six assists in the final Eastern Conference play-in game. On Sunday, the Heat will face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs. Miami and Boston have met in the last two East Finals, with Boston winning in 2022 and the Heat winning last season.
Miami dominated Friday's game despite the fact that star Jimmy Butler was sidelined with an MCL injury to his right knee. Butler was injured during the Heat's play-in loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
Kevin Love led the Heat with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Bam Adebayo had 13 points.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of his players, "We have a bunch of Type-A competitors and I wanted them to enjoy it and embrace it and to be grateful to have a game like that where it's not a pick-up game and a game that doesn't have meaning."
"These are the games that you think about and reflect on later on where you're like, 'That game was fun.' These games are fun. They are fun. I'd rather not be in the play-in game, but they're fun. Our competitors enjoy that."
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 22 points, while Nikola Vucevic added 16 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists. Coby White had only 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting after scoring 42 against the Atlanta Hawks two nights prior.
"We couldn't get in a rhythm offensively," DeRozan said. "We couldn't get anything going. And they had a rhythm and hit shots when they needed."
Javonte Green scored 12 points off the bench, and Ayo Dosunmu had 10 on 3-of-15 shooting for Chicago.
Last season, Miami defeated the Bulls in the battle for the final Eastern Conference spot. The Heat ultimately lost to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals.
Spoelstra said, "We had to earn this. You can't influence it. You can't pay money for it. You have to collectively come together and earn it and we had to do it the hard way just to get this first ticket punched for the first invitation to this dance."
"I'm grateful for this opportunity to be in the playoffs. I'm grateful for this locker room to have this opportunity."
Miami shot 46.3 percent from the field on Friday, including 14 of 33 (42.4 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Bulls made 38 percent of their shots, including 13 of 43 (30.2 percent) from behind the arc.
Chicago coach Billy Donovan stated, "We didn't really make shots. We have not really been what I would say a high-volume 3-point shooting team, but I think a lot of the threes stemmed from getting into the teeth of the defense and sprayed it out."
The Bulls trailed 70-60 after Green's basket with 3:15 remaining in the third quarter, and then Miami delivered the knockout punch.
Delon Wright and Herro made three-pointers during the quarter's final 12-0 run for an 82-60 lead, and Jaquez scored the first basket of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 24.
Jaquez later converted a three-point play and added two free throws 59 seconds later, helping the Heat build a 99-70 lead with 7:05 left in the game and cruise to victory.
DeRozan said, "It was a long season. A lot of ups and downs, a lot of challenges. A lot of frustrations and a combination of things we had to go through. Guys being hurt and being in and out of the lineup. Missing key players. Just one of those seasons with a combination of bad luck, but guys stuck with it."
DeRozan's three-pointer gave Chicago an early 11-6 lead before Miami scored 19 consecutive points. Haywood Highsmith scored the final basket of the spurt, giving the Heat a 25-11 lead with 4:52 remaining in the first quarter.
Miami led by 19 at the end of the first quarter and 34-17 heading into the second.
Chicago reduced its deficit to 47-37 at the break.
DeRozan led the Bulls with 15 points in the first half, while Miami's Jaquez had 10.
Herro, looking ahead to the series with the Celtics, said, "Obviously, they're the best team by numbers and statistically in the league. It's going to be a huge challenge for us, but we're built for it. We're excited and we got to cover for Jimmy, so we're going to Boston with a great mentality and mindset and be ready to roll."
SportsLigue