Chicago Bulls clinch win over Miami Heat with play-in implications — powered by a Josh Giddey triple-double
The Chicago Bulls delivered a decisive blow Wednesday in a 119-111 win over the Miami Heat, extending a one-game advantage for the No. 9 seed ahead of the final weekend of the regular season.
Matas Buzelis hit a pair of key baskets — a driving floater and a transition 3-pointer — in clutch time to clinch the win, giving the Bulls a crucial lead over the Heat in the Eastern Conference standings.
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Tyler Herro stole the ball with the chance to cut the lead to a single possession with 43 seconds left, only to pull up for a 3-pointer and whiff on the shot.
'That was pretty ballsy,' guard Kevin Huerter said of the play with a laugh after the Bulls secured the win.
With the win, the Bulls now have a magic number: one.
With one more win over either the Washington Wizards or the Philadelphia 76ers, the Bulls will secure the No. 9 seed and host their first game of the play-in tournament against the Heat.
Photos: Chicago Bulls 119, Miami Heat 111 at the United Center
But the eighth seed also isn't out of reach. If the Bulls win both of their final games and the Atlanta Hawks lose at least one of their final three games, Chicago would jump up to the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. This would result in a first-round game against the Orlando Magic and the potential to advance to play the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics rather than the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Here are four takeaways from the win.
1. Josh Giddey powered the offense.
The offense benefitted from another full-throttle night from guard Josh Giddey, who tallied 28 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists to bolster the Bulls on both ends of the court. Giddey's creativity was crucial to jump-start the Bulls offense after a slow night in Cleveland. And he provided an important presence for the Bulls on the boards against a lengthy Heat team that often physically dominates opponents.
It was Giddey's seventh triple-double of the year, a reflection of the guard's dramatic improvement since the All-Star break.
2. Injured players returned to the Bulls lineup.
The Bulls sat four of their five starters for Tuesday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in anticipation of Wednesday's night game, which was already set to determine their position as the No. 9 or No. 10 seed. Coby White was benched for rest while Giddey, Huerter, and Nikola Vučević were held out preventatively with injuries.
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All four starters returned to the lineup against the Heat. In addition to Giddey, Vučević and Huerter showed immediate benefits from taking a night off. Huerter rattled off four 3-pointers to contribute 22 points. And Vučević secured 20 points and 11 rebounds — including six offensive boards — all while battling with Heat center Bam Adebayo in the paint.
3. A quiet night for Coby White.
The only player who didn't come out with a pep in his step was White, who scored 16 points in the first three quarters. White struggled with his 3-point shot, going 0-for-5 from behind the arc on the night. This was a discrepancy from the rest of the roster — the Bulls otherwise went 14-for-32 (43.8%) from deep.
White finally began to return to form midway through the fourth quarter, when he ripped off a pair of midrange jump shots to reignite his shooting accuracy. He went on to anchor the Bulls offense in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 of the team's 27 points in the frame.
4. There are two games left for Lonzo Ball.
There are only two games left for Lonzo Ball to make a return before the end of the regular season.
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Ball did not participate in Tuesday's shootaround in Cleveland and was not made available for either game against the Cavaliers or the Heat. He has been sidelined since the end of February with a sprained wrist, which he initially sustained in the opening month of the regular season.
Despite making a historic return from a knee cartilage transplant that sidelined him for the past two seasons, Ball is currently set to play only 35 games in the regular season, barring a return this weekend.
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