Tyler Herro scored 38 points and the Miami Heat dominated the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, defeating them 109-90 and advancing in the Play-In mini-tournament.
Herro scored 23 points for Miami, which took a 71-47 lead into halftime. The Heat eliminated the Bulls from the Play-In for the third consecutive year and will play in Atlanta on Friday for a chance to face top-seeded Cleveland in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Hawks fell to Orlando on Tuesday. “We’re only halfway there,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “The guys feel really good about this win and have really put a lot into this. This isn’t something that can happen overnight. I feel like good things have been happening the last few weeks.”
Herro made his first eight shots and finished 13 of 19 in the game. Andrew Wiggins had 20 points and nine rebounds. Bam Adebayo added 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Davion Mitchell chipped in with 15 points and nine assists.
The Heat had 10 steals and seven blocks, all adding up to avenge a three-game regular-season sweep. Josh Giddey had 25 points and ten rebounds for Chicago. Coby White scored 17, though he shot 5 of 20. Nikola Vucevic finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
In Wednesday’s other game, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Sacramento Kings 120-106.
