Sport Linkers 2
The Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls will face off Friday for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Heat fell 115-114 to the Philadelphia on Wednesday, forcing them to play another game in order to clinch their postseason spot. The Bulls defeated the Atlanta 131-116 on Wednesday, keeping their playoff hopes alive. The winner of Friday’s matchup will play the Boston in the first round of the playoffs while the loser will be eliminated.
The Heat and Bulls played against each other four times. The Bulls won the first game of the season series 102-97 on Nov. 18. All five of the Bulls’ starters scored double-digit points while only three Heat players reached that mark.
The two teams played against just two days later. The Heat evened up the series after a 118-100 win on Nov. 20. The Heat shot 48.6 percent from three while the Bulls made just 29.7 percent of their three-point attempts.
The Bulls took the third game of the series 124-116 on Dec. 14. Jaime Jaquez Jr. led an injury-riddled Heat squad with 22 points in the game. The Bulls had four players with 23 or more points in the winning effort.
For the second time in a month, the Heat and Bulls played a back-to-back. The Heat narrowly won the Dec. 16 game 118-116. Jimmy Butler led the team with 28 points as the team escaped a fourth-quarter comeback attempt.
It is important to note that Tyler Herro did not play in all four matchups between the two teams. Bam Adebayo also did not dress during the second back-to-back. They will be two of the most important reasons that the Heat can escape the Play-In Tournament on Friday.
The Heat and Bulls play Friday at 7 p.m. at the Kaseya Center.
