Defeating Bulls 112-91, Miami Heat Secure Second Consecutive Eighth Seed

(CTN News) – In a play-in tournament elimination game Friday night, the Miami Heat ran away from the Chicago Bulls 112-91 to win by a margin of 112, with Tyler Herro scoring 24 points and an assist shy of a triple-double.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 21 points as the Miami Heat claimed the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

In addition to Love’s 16 points, Bam Adebayo added 13 for Miami, which will face its former Eastern Conference rivals, the Boston Celtics, in a rematch of the last two East finals.

It is Round 1 this time, with the Miami Heat being massive underdogs against the clear favorite for the championship.

Heat will be without Jimmy Butler due to an injury to his right knee, and they played again without point guard Terry Rozier, who is still injured in the neck.

It makes no difference. The Bulls were blown away by them in the first quarter after a 19-0 run, and they took control midway through the second half with a 14-0 run. For the second consecutive season, Herro finished with 10 rebounds and nine assists, and eliminated the Bulls in the last Eastern Conference play-in game.

The Bulls were led by DeMar DeRozan’s 22 points, while Nikola Vucevic contributed 16 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists. In this game, Coby White scored 13 points for Chicago, which was trying to become the fifth team to make the playoffs in the last 35 years without ever exceeding a .500 mark during the regular season.

During the 19-0 run, Miami Heat achieved its longest run of consecutive points all season, done twice previously, turning an 11-6 deficit into an early 25-11 lead. Jaquez and Nikola Jovic combined for 11 points in the burst, which led to Miami Heat taking a 17-point lead after one quarter and pushing it to 20 by the end of the second quarter.

105 points were scored by the Pelicans against 98 points by the Kings

New Orleans qualified for the NBA playoffs with a victory over Sacramento Kings in a play-in tournament elimination game featuring Brandon Ingram scoring 24 points and Jonas Valanciunas adding 19 points and 12 rebounds. Despite the absence of leading scorer Zion Williamson, who strained his left hamstring in Tuesday’s play-in game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Pelicans prevailed.

The New Orleans Pelicans were undeterred by Williamson’s absence and improved to 8-5 this season without him. In addition to Larry Nance Jr. (13 points), Naji Marshall (11) and Jose Alvarado (10), six other players scored 10 points or more.

The New Orleans Pelicans added 16 points through Trey Murphy III, who started in Williamson’s absence.

As a team, Sacramento was led by De’Aaron Fox, who scored 35 points, and Domantas Sabonis, who had 23 points and 14 rebounds.

SEE ALSO:

Pakistan vs New Zealand : Pakistan Thrash Kiwis In One-Sided Second T20