The Miami Heat Eliminates the Chicago Bulls from Playoff Contention
Last night, four teams played to determine the eighth seed in both the Eastern and Western Conference. While the New Orleans Pelicans eliminated the Sacramento Kings from playoff contention in the later game, the Miami Heat stomped on the Chicago Bulls 112-91. Miami eliminated Chicago from playoff contention and has claimed the eighth seed in the East for the second straight season. This now sets up a first-round series with the Boston Celtics. Just last season, the Heat and the Celtics faced off in the Eastern Conference Finals, with Miami taking a 3-1 lead before the Celtics swiftly bounced back to tie the series at three games apiece, until ultimately the Miami Heat won Game Seven by a blowout of 103-84, to advance to the 2023 NBA Finals. Can the Heat pull off some eighth-seed magic once again?
Miami came out absolutely dominant during the first quarter of this ball game. With close to a minute remaining in the first, the Heat held a ridiculous 21-point lead. They outscored the Bulls 34-17 in the first 12 minutes of this matchup. Although the Bulls were able to hold the Heat to 13 points in the second quarter, they only scored 20 points as a unit which means they had a deficit of 10 points heading into the locker room. Just like in the first quarter, the Heat were firing on all cylinders again. Miami outscored Chicago 35-23, the Heat took a 22-point lead heading into the final quarter of action. The Bulls had no chance in the fourth quarter and would be eliminated in a rough 21-point loss. The biggest problems for the Bulls were their shooting, and rebounding. Chicago shot 38 percent from the field, and 30 percent from beyond the arc. They were also out-rebounded by the Heat by nine rebounds.
Through 33 minutes of action, Tyler Herro led all scorers with 24 points, he was also one assist away from a triple-double finishing with 10 rebounds, and nine assists. Jaime Jaquez Jr. dropped 21 points along with having six rebounds, and six assists in the win. DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 22 points while having three rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block. Nikola Vucevic had 16 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a bloc in the loss. The Heat will make their way up to Boston for Game One of their series against the Celtics on Sunday at 1 PM EST.
