Miami survives scare from Chicago to punch playoff ticket with 102-91 win and sets up first-round matchup with top-seeded Milwaukee and Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Butler led the way for the Miami Heat with 31 points to clinch the No .8 seed
- Demar DeRozan’s daughter Diar was not in attendance after receiving threats
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
The Miami Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls in the final Eastern Conference Play-In game, 102-91, to secure the No. 8 seed. Max Strus and Jimmy Butler scored 31 points apiece for Miami.
They will now play the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the NBA Playoffs on Sunday.
This marks the 11th time in 15 years the Heat made the playoffs under Erik Spoelstra.
After making national headlines during the Play-In game against the Toronto for distracting Raptors players at the foul line with her ear-piercing screams after DeRozan’s daughter Diar said he choose not to have her miss the day of school.
Following the game against Toronto she had to be escorted from the arena after receiving multiple threats.
The Miami Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls to advance to the playoffs and to face the Bucks
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, shouts to his players during the first half game against Chicago
Tyler Herro added 12 points and Bam Adebayo grabbed 17 rebounds for Miami, which trailed by six midway through the final quarter.
But Butler scored while getting fouled with 2:17 left to put Miami ahead for good, found Strus for a 3-pointer – his seventh of the night – a minute later to push the lead to five, and Strus sealed it with three free throws after getting fouled on a try from beyond the arc with 40 seconds remaining.
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 26 points and nine assists. Alex Caruso added 16 points, Zach Lavine had 15 but shot just 6 for 20, and Coby White scored 14 for the Bulls.
Chicago got a road win at Toronto on Wednesday to extend its season, but couldn’t get the second road victory it needed to make the playoffs.
The Heat led by 14 in the first quarter, held as much as a 10-point lead in the third quarter, then found themselves down by six with 7:12 remaining.
A 9-3 spurt over the next 2 minutes – Butler had seven of the points, Strus had the other two – pulled the Heat into a tie, and into all-too-familiar territory.
The NBA defines clutch games as those that are within five points or less in the final 5 minutes, and the Heat played a league-high 54 of them during the regular season.
Maybe it prepared them for this moment. White made a 3-pointer with 3:47 left to put the Bulls up 90-87.
The score the rest of the way: Heat 15, Bulls 1.
Max Straus recorded a shocking 31 points in the Heats victory in the Play-In game vs the Bulls
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