Tyler Hero scored 38 points and the Miami Heat took control of the Chicago Bulls 109-90 on Wednesday night to advance to the Play-in Tournament.
Hero scored 23 points as Miami grabbed a 71-47 halftime lead, and the Heat knocked out the Bulls from the play-in for the third year in a row. They will play in Atlanta on Friday and give them the opportunity to meet top seed Cleveland in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. The Hawks lost to Orlando on Tuesday.
Hero made his first eight shots, 13/19 in the game. The All-Star Guard nailed three 3 pointers.
Andrew Wiggins had 20 points and nine rebounds. Bam Adebayo added 15 points and 12 rebounds, and the heat was retrieved against a three-game sweep in the regular season.
Josh Giddy scored 25 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago. Coby White scored 17, but he shot five of his 20, while Nikola Vosevic finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bulls arrived within 13 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but closed the rest and missed the playoffs for the third year in a row.
Hero set the tone and made all eight shots as Heat opened the game in the first half. He’s barely a single show, with Wiggins earning 12 in the half, and Adebayo added 11 points and 7 rebounds.
It was 39-28 after Bulls’ Matas Buselis stole a pass and pulled it up to buzzer beating 3 to finish the first quarter, waking the Chicago crowd.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams gave him a big applause during the quarter as he was shown seated courtside. He signed the football and threw it deep into the stands.
The heat responded in a big way, putting up 16-5 runs to start the second, surpassing the Bulls 32-19 in the second quarter.
Report by Associated Press.
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