Heat make unique history following play-in win over Bulls
The Miami Heat clinched the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs on Friday, topping the Chicago Bulls by a 102-91 score in the conference's final play-in tournament game.
Sneaking in to grab the last spot in the East bracket, the Heat made some not-so-flattering history. Miami is only the third team to earn the eighth spot in the playoffs a year after occupying the No. 1 seed.
Miami finished the 2021-22 season holding a 53-29 record before ultimately falling in seven games to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
This time around, nothing has come easy for the Heat. While the team ended the regular season at 44-38, a loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the first play-in game on Tuesday meant that they needed a win over the Bulls on Friday to qualify for the postseason.
The Heat came away victorious in this clincher thanks largely to massive nights from Jimmy Butler and Max Strus, who combined to post 62 points. Butler scored 31 points, shooting 11-of-24 from the field while adding five rebounds and three assists. Strus also tallied 31 points in the win, shooting 8-of-16 from the field and 7-of-12 from behind the arc.
According to ESPN Stats and Info, Butler and Strus are only the third duo in Heat history to score 30 or more points each in a playoff or play-in game, joining Dwayne Wade and Damon Jones (2005) and Wade and LeBron James (3x).
After surviving the play-in, a much taller task now lays before the Heat in the form of the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, who posted the NBA's best record this season at 58-24.
The Heat's first-round series with the Bucks tips off on Sunday, with Game 1 in Milwaukee scheduled to get underway at 4:30 p.m. ET.
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