Tyler Herro delivered one of his best performances of the season to lift the Miami Heat past the Chicago Bulls, 109-90, on Wednesday night in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
With the win, the Heat advanced to face the Atlanta Hawks on Friday for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot and a first-round matchup against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.
Herro finished with 38 points on 13-of-19 shooting, including 3-for-7 from deep and 9-of-10 from the line.
He scored 23 in the first half alone as Miami built a commanding 71-47 lead at the break and never looked back.
The 25-year-old guard opened the game hitting his first eight shots, setting the tone for a Heat squad that outpaced Chicago on both ends.
Andrew Wiggins added 20 points and 9 rebounds, while Bam Adebayo posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 boards.
Davion Mitchell also provided a key spark off the bench with 15 points on perfect shooting and 9 assists.
Miami’s defense forced 17 turnovers, blocked 7 shots, and held the Bulls to 27 percent from three-point range.
Josh Giddey led Chicago with 25 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Bulls in contention after the first quarter.
Coby White contributed 17 points but made just 5 of 20 shots, while Nikola Vucevic added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Chicago cut the lead to 13 early in the fourth but never threatened again, missing the playoffs for a third straight year.
Miami, which entered the tournament as the No. 10 seed after a turbulent season that included a trade sending Jimmy Butler to Golden State, is now one win away from returning to the postseason.
Miami now heads to Atlanta, where the winner of Friday’s matchup will secure the eighth seed and head to Cleveland for Game 1 of the first round.
