Heat Eliminate Bulls 109-90, Advance to Playoffs

Tyler Herro led the Miami Heat with a stellar 38-point performance in a decisive 109-90 victory over the Chicago Bulls, keeping Miami's NBA playoff hopes alive and eliminating the Bulls from postseason contention for the third straight year. Herro's hot start, making his first eight shots and notching 23 points by halftime, propelled the Heat to a commanding 71-47 lead at the break. Miami also benefited from strong contributions by Andrew Wiggins (20 points, 9 rebounds) and Bam Adebayo (15 points, 12 rebounds), while their defense limited Chicago to just 27% shooting from three-point range. Chicago's efforts, led by Josh Giddey (25 points, 10 rebounds) and Nikola Vucevic (16 points, 12 rebounds), were not enough to overcome the early deficit. The Heat now advance to a winner-take-all play-in matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, with the victor earning the Eastern Conference's No. 8 seed and a first-round series against top-seeded Cleveland. The game also featured local fanfare, including an ovation for Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams during a break.