In a battle between two teams jostling between the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls bested the Miami Heat 119-111 Wednesday night inside United Center in Chicago, Ill.
Both teams entered the night at 36-43, tied for the No. 9 seed in the East. With two games left for both teams, the winner of tonight’s matchup would have had the inside track at earning homecourt in the No. 9/10 play-in game–played a week from Wednesday.
Despite the mistakes stacking on top of each other, Tyler Herro’s fadeaway wing triple capped a 12-4 run cut it to a two-possession game with less than a minute left. Herro followed suit by hoisting an (inexplicable) triple in transition with nobody surrounding him, which rimmed out.
Miami did not trim it below five points for the remainder of the contest.
Herro scored a game-high 30 points on 13-of-26 shooting, adding four rebounds and four assists. Davion Mitchell was arguably the Heat’s most impactful player, scoring 17 points with eight dimes and four steals on 6-of-10 shooting.
Bam Adebayo had 18 points and six rebounds; Andrew Wiggins, in his first game back in nearly two weeks, scored 14 points with six rebounds and five assists on 5-of-10 shooting. Kel’el Ware had 12 points and seven rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting.
Chicago was led by Josh Giddey, who posted a 28-point, 16-rebound, 11-assist triple-double with a pair of steals and three blocks. Nikola Vucevic won the battle of the bigs, adding 20 points with 11 rebounds–coming two assists shy of his second triple-double of the season.
With the Bulls sweeping the season series, they would need to lose both of their final games against Washington and Philadelphia in order for the Heat to have a chance at the No. 9 seed.
In the play-in era, No. 10 seeds are just 2-6 in their first game. There hasn’t been a No. 10 seed at the conclusion of the regular season to make the playoffs since the 7-10 format was fully implemented at the start of the 2020-21 season.
As the days go by, tonight is looking closer and closer to what the matchup will be in seven days. What are your thoughts on Wednesday’s loss? Let us know in the comments!
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Very interesting article. (I posted earlier but it disappeared.
My grand plan to save the Miami Heat’s season: Shut it down
It’s the only way. By Wes Goldberg
https://allucanheat.com/my-grand-plan-save-miami-heat-season-shut-it-down
Oh no we lost…oh no two picks 😁😝
What happens to Pelle?
yeah no pt hes the 9th best player on team however.dunc should not play over pelle d
We keep him, is my hope.
I heard some kind of injury takes place before the game.
Just can not keep my laughter to myself. The first 2 comments I have read ended up with hopes that we lose in the 1st round of the play in. So, after all tonight’s game was not worth it with the risk of injuries to any of our players. Thankfully, no one got hurt.
It was a silly decision to take this game seriously. I had called for the team to shut it down before now and just go for the picks. It was considered ‘quiting’ ,yes it is. There should be no shame about it. Coach Udoka, the coach of the reigning NBA champions, the Boston Celtics, a week ago pulled out his 5 starters, 5 minutes to the end of a home again against the Heat in which the Heat had double digits lead. It was wise on his part for doing so. You pick your battles and live to fight another day. It was very obvious that this Heat team does not have what it takes to come out of the East. I plead again, it is time to shut it down for the season. Play your rookies and the bench guys for the last game.
Personally, I think the players by now know their weaknesses and strengths. Know where to improve on. They all by now have a firm understanding of what the competition is and what to expect next season.
Why take this risk of injuries. I can only speculate that the Heat organization is trying to avoid sanction from the NBA or may not consider it fair to their fans for quitting early. Just my speculation.
Let’s call a spade a spade. There are 84 games coming up in 2026. Get an early start shaping up the roster and give your guys early rest from some freak injury that may or may not happen at the dusk of this protracted ‘preseason’ of 2026.
Go Heat, Go!
I’m here for the two picks!
Me too
Ime Udoka is the coach of the Houston Rockets. Joe Mazzulla has been the coach of the Celtics for two years.
I don’t mind the Heat losing in the play-in round. What I don’t like is tanking. It’s not in my DNA to deliberately quit. Let the guys play to the best of their abilities and let the chips fall where they may…hopefully with a loss. The last salvageable thing they have to walk away from this season is their pride. I would hate to take that from them too.
On a more positive note, the Spurs beat the Warriors 114-111 in San Francisco tonight. They dropped out of a 4-way tie for 4th place and into a 2-way tie for 7th. If they end up in that range, Miami would receive a pick in the high teens or low 20’s. Miami’s lottery pick would be in the 11th-12th place range.
There will be some good PGs dropping to the high lottery 11-14 range and several bigs in the 18-11 range, which could result in Miami having 2 quality picks this June, if they do not make the playoffs.
Words cannot express how I am eagerly looking to the coming draft than the NBA finals., like putting the cart before the horse.
They are who we thought they were but hoped deep down that they weren’t. Even at full strength against the 9th place team, Miami was unable to put it all together. It is very obvious the team needs a major overhaul starting this summer. I would take Giddey over Herro any day.
Robinson absolutely sucked tonight offensively and his defense always sucks. 2 points on 1-6 shooting and 3 turnovers! Why is Mitchell not starting? In this situation, you go with your best players. Kel’el Ware 25 minutes? WTFF? I lay this loss squarely at the feet of Spo. Not only have several players lost their “Mojo”…apparently, so has Spoelstra.
It’s getting tough sitting through these games. WTFF was Herro doing passing up a breakaway 2 pointer and instead, shooting and missing a 3 pointer when the team was down by 5 in the last minute of the game??? Is it low BBIQ or what??? Two birds in the hand are better than 3 in the bush!!!
This season started bad, remained bad and is closing bad. It can’t be over soon enough. I hope they lose the first game of the play-in round so Riley (or whoever hopefully replaces him) can devote his/her full attention to the draft and decisions regarding what personnel to move forward with and which ones to get rid of. I can think of a few right off the bat. I would keep the core and players on rookie contracts to make sure we don’t let go of a late bloomer, such as Giddey, Mitchell, White, etc.
You, I, and others have said it would be best for the future of our team to get the lottery and late first round picks. The draft, of course, can be a hit or miss proposition. But tonight, our fine #15 pick, Ware, played (not enough) against their fine #11 pick, Buzelis. Buzelis may never be a star, but he seems to be an impressive young player and, like Ware, is only 20. My point is that I absolutely believe we can find a quality young pg with that lottery pick, which currently would be #11. Also, tonight, the Warriors fell to 7 and let’s hope they continue to fade. That would result in a pick somewhere in the 18-22 range (currently 20), where we could pick a solid backup center.
I don’t see Bam getting traded. Not so sure about Herro, who has had a very good season and is in the mip conversation. His value has never been higher. If he was packaged with Duncan (mostly for salary matching) and a young prospect like Jovic, Pelle, or Jaquez, we should get an A or A+ player. I would be happy if we keep Herro as I have been a fan from the start and believe he has a unique skill set.
Definitely need to sign Mitchell, and hopefully keep Wiggins and Anderson (both are on reasonable contracts). And please, give Keshad (and peace) a chance.
Whether they make the playoffs or not (I prefer the pick over a first round exit), the future of this franchise is bright.
Sorry RC I didn’t see your post or I wouldn’t have posted a redundant one. Nonetheless, it looks like we are on the same page. The Heat need to wrap it up next week and get on with the re-tooling/re-building process. There’s no better time to start it than this summer.
It may take one more season, but Miami needs to draft wisely, develop it’s existing young talent, trade a or allow contracts to expire for players who do not fit or who have not performed up to expected levels.
I agree trades are needed. However, it may be difficult to trade a couple of them.
I chalked it up to brilliant minds think alike. Ha!
“All we are saying…”
I am not mad at Ty for the three point try. We were still extremely likely to lose.
Otherwise, I am ok with everything, this is definitely for the best.
I like your trade idea. There are a lot of good players on rosters that their timelines don’t match up with the rest of the teams’. I hope this time we don’t go whale hunting and get played. We should just get an A- player, make a trade with no drama. There are good players on bad teams all over this league.
We can take heart in looking forward to next year with optimism.
When he stole it and stopped to pop I said “oh he thinks he’s Walter Clayton Jr” and clank. He’s not Walter Clayton Jr, but it was a ballsy play. Kudos to him.
Also, I’m here for the two picks!
I just want to take an upbeat take on the direction our team is headed. We were in such a bad spot with Jimmy quitting on us and then limiting our return on him. Then, first we see what an amazing find Mitchell has been, with the best defense I have ever rooted for in a player before, and then some evolving offense, making threes and power drives with good finishes. His ceiling is higher than we realized. Then it happened with Wiggins, where we have seen flashes that the old Andrew is still there, but was in a dormant state in Frisco, as he deferred to others. Then, of all the surprises, Slo Mo is becoming a fan fav as he does things no one else does, very cerebral player. To think we got this bounty for Jimmy, and a pick, we came out great. And it happened while some marginal players were injured and allowed those three the pt they needed to show their stuff. No one should forget how crappy this team was with Jimmy. We are not world beaters now but are unquestionably better and with a long window. The future looks bright, it really does again.
And, last but not least, I owe the Godfather some props as he still has some magic. He got us thru a difficult situation.
Nice comment. And Anderson has been the biggest surprise for me too! He has size and is a pesky defender. I knew Mitchell had a reputation for his defense, but he makes at least 2 defensive plays a game that have me shaking my head in awe. And his offense has been another surprise. I hope we keep all 3.
It has turned out to be the type of trade that benefited both teams. Difference is that they have quitter for 2 more years at $55 million per and, thankfully, we don’t.
Anderson was one of main bench contributors to the wolves trip to the wcf. Holds players accountable, jack of all trades, probably our 2nd or 3rd best foul drawer, can play 1-4, top 10 in help defense for his position. Ik he was gonna be very useful from the jump, him or Davion could be a our starting pg. Honestly I’m happy with all 3 new additions after Jimmy left badly. It’s crazy how almost a month ago ppl were bad mouthing the new additions saying that pat could of done better, but this is best he could do with Jimmy crying like a baby, but I guess being on a very,very long losing streak does that to ppl.
Yes, that trade now looks brilliant. And as I said to my better half today, the combined amount of their salaries is $6 million LESS than quitter.
Yes sir, now we gotta get off them dunc, and Terry contracts.
I agree. The trade worked out for the Heat. What this team is/has been lacking is a superstar closer. A “Playoff Jimmy” type of 2023, before he quit on the team. It is very apparent that Herro is not that player. He crumbles when the going gets tough. He wants to be “that guy” but it’s just not in his DNA. He chokes.
The Heat have lost 15 games by 5 or fewer points and countless other ones by under 10 points or where they have had double digit leads.
Hopefully, the team can score big with this year’s draft picks and begin the process of cleaning house. I’m looking forward to Summer League, Preseason and next season. However, I don’t expect to see a major change in the team’s trajectory until a few of the current players on expiring 2026 contracts are gone.
I agree. That’s what we need. There may only be 20 players who are hard to stop in crunch time. A player I wish we could get, Naz Reid, not generally thought of as a star, seems to have some of those qualities. I bring him up because you would only get the lower tier of those guys in a trade, not the superstars, or it costs you so much trade capital it’s not worth it, or they are aging, and aren’t worth it. Still, there are a few players on bad teams who, if you didn’t go for the superstar, would really help in crunch time.
But, even having that doesn’t assure a championship, as the Knicks have two players like that. The best way is to hit on a draft pick, but even then it doesn’t show up for a couple of years.
I agree on your assessment of Ty. But, he is a pleasure to have on the Heat. He got so good this year.
And, Jimmy has been inconsistent, I saw one game where he scored four points. But, no taking away from him that his mere presence has lifted Golden State. It’s a subtle effect he has, but last night, he made five baskets, two threes, yet scored 28. Same old Jimmy, 16 free throws! Still, he only raised them a certain amount, they lost to tanker.
I’m here for the two picks!
who u picking
If we can’t get fears, then Jase Richardson, queen, or egor for the first pick. 2nd pick depends on who we picked 1st, but I would go with sorber,wolf, Fleming, or Clayton Jr who possibly has that clutch gene/finisher we’re looking for .
Good choices. I’m looking forward to the aggregate mock draft after the May 12 draft lottery and the May 11-18 draft combine. By then, it will be clear what pick(s) Miami will have, the best players who may be available and potential trade options for A/A+ players.
Thanks my g, also forgot to add khaman cuz he probably might drop too, and that makes both of us, cuz im looking forward to all of that. It’s been awhile, since I been excited for mock drafts and combines lol.
Same here. To everything, there is a season. This is the season for Miami to pivot towards the future and leave the past behind.
u r the mel kiper jr of hhh
Yes, good choices. Of course, if Fears slips down….
Anyway, when I look at the mocks, I see forwards projected for our first pick. I strongly feel that we already have too many players in the 6’5”-6’7” range. Unless it’s a pg that size, I’d pass. I’m seeing the later pick more for backup center. For pg, I’d look at Demin or even Traore.
I’m like demin reminds me of giddey, traore I feel is too raw for me, for that first pick.
Everyone nose that. 😆
Yes sir!
i hope they make a run means more heat games and more eric reid.wiggy was rusty.bam was banged up and dunc played.3 things that should change by next wednesday in .playoffs rotations are shortened .the great 8 will beat the bulls.just use the right fn players spobot and a little more ware rather than hh. hh is so offensiveless not sure he should play over pelle d.guy just doesnt believe in scoring smh
Gonna have to start calling you the team’s optimist heat.
Just think, this time next year (or sooner), Rozier, Robinson, Love, Highsmith and who knows who else will be off the books. In addition, we’ll have two new draft picks (hopefully) and have our eyes on a ss player to bring in via free agency or trade. Life is good!
GO HEAT!!!
when 55 came back ruined the rotation of the gr8.i saw 8 guys play champ caliber bball for 6 duncan less games.the great eight were balling be it mostly against mediocre teams but blowing teams out .wigg gets hurt dunc gets minutos back to mediocre heat.i saw glimpses of a team that can give bost cleve a run for their $$.increase wares minute to 35 keep a guy who cant guard anybody on bench i like our chances to compete.we are void of a ss but have 5 good players and with support from hh slomo and burks thats enough .,remember the show in the 70s all u old farts 8 is enough gimme those 8 spobot do u remember who gave u that win streak and who didnt
Davion was awesome tonight played his best game of the season for heat, also playing the best season of his career, he definitely is a keeper like I thought. Josh was in giddey up mode, almost always plays good against us, wish we had him on our team,but oh well. Bulls seem to have our number the past couple seasons, but we always beat them in the play in, I’m hoping that changes, and they beat us in the play-in this season….top 10 pick here we come hopefully.
I’m here for the two picks!
who
Who would you take at 11 ? Queen or khaman
Khaman Muluach, a projected lottery pick, is in danger of being deported due to a new federal immigration policy. The U.S. plans to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders effective immediately, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday.
It’s unknown whether Maluach was aware of the state department announcement prior to Saturday’s matchup with Houston. He finished with six points, one block and zero rebounds while only playing 21 minutes due to foul trouble.
Wow that’s crazy work, so probably off the table I guess
If Queen is there, gotta take him. Then maybe get Fland or Clayton for pg. Also, you can sign and start Mitchell, promote Stevens as backup, or wait to see how Dru is doing. I don’t have high hopes for Dru, starting to look like he has the Dipo curse. Shame.
Yes, I would love queen, and spo would make his D better. He could be our 6, 7, or 8th man, and would make our bench much more potent. Stevens would be a good back up for mitchell. I really liked dru, but I fear his injuries might curse him like you said, hopefully im wrong.
Yes sir me too lol