When the Chicago Bulls entered their game against the Miami Heat knowing their opponent would be without their best player, hopes were high that they would return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2021-22 season.
But those aspirations got snuffed out quickly as Miami suffocated Chicago in a 112-91 win to earn a ticket to the NBA Playoffs as a No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
“It was tough,” said DeMar DeRozan, who led the team with 22 points. “We missed a lot of easy shots.”
Couldn’t get it done 💔 pic.twitter.com/CieLBx8Uv4
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 20, 2024
For their troubles, the Heat will get to play the top-seeded Boston Celtics, holders of the best regular season record in the league.
But that’s a battle for another day. For Miami, that’s Sunday.
Without leading scorer Jimmy Butler, out with a sprained knee, the Heat scorched the Bulls by going on a 19-0 run, turning their early 11- 6 deficit to a 25-11 lead.
Though Chicago showed signs of life early in the second half, Miami went on a 12-0 run to close out the third quarter, effectively pulling the plug on their season. The Heat’s run was punctuated by a ridiculous assist by Miami’s Tyler Herro, who made a Magic Johnson-esque behind the back pass to Caleb Martin, who sank the jumper.
TYLER HERRO BEHIND-THE-BACK DIME 🤯 pic.twitter.com/qteSDMdTFN
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 20, 2024
Miami was able to overcome the loss of Butler thanks to contributions of Tyler Herro and rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr., who scored 24 and 21 points, respectively. Herro was just one assist shy of a triple-double.
Even 16-year veteran Kevin Love made an impact on the game thanks to his 16 points and 7 rebounds in 12 minutes.
At the start of this game, it was clear that for the Bulls, Miami was a step up in competition from the Atlanta Hawks, whom they played in their first Play-In game on Wednesday.
After completely melting the defensively deficient Hawks, Chicago wilted against the Heat, a team with a well-established reputation for playing gritty defense.
Nowhere was that more apparent than in the play of Bulls guard Coby White. On Wednesday against the Hawks, White scored a career high 42 points on 15 of 21 shooting. Against the Heat, he managed just 13 points on 5 for 16 shooting.
“These games, they’re going to be like that,” said Bulls coach Billy Donovan to the Associated Press. “It’s going to be ugly, grind-out. Could we have been better in those areas? Probably. I wouldn’t say we were perfect. I thought our guys were trying to compete.”
If anything, the Bulls would be wise to avoid the Heat in any game where a playoff berth is on the line.
This is the second straight season Miami eliminated them in a Play-In game.
This latest outcome has stirred up questions about Chicago’s future and whether the franchise needs to hit the reset button as it has had multiple seasons with mediocre results.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.