The MIAMI Heat shrugged off the absence of star forward Jimmy Butler to crush the Chicago Bulls 112-91 in an elimination play-in game Friday. They will battle the Boston Celtics who are the top seeds in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
This is the second straight season that Miami has earned the eighth seed through the play-in tournament and they will play the Celtics for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
Butler suffered a torn MCL knee ligament in Wednesday’s game once morest the Philadelphia 76ers and faces several weeks out.
The 34-year-old has led the Heat to two NBA Finals including a run last year that included an Eastern Conference Finals win over the Celtics.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra insisted his team had the personnel to overcome the loss of their talisman and they proved it in a convincing home win.
Point guard Tyler Herro was the highlight with 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists but he was supported well by rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. and veteran Kevin Love.
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Jaquez scored 21 points with six rebounds and six assists while Love, coming off the bench, scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
The Heat were also without point guard Terry Rozier, who remains sidelined with a neck injury, but they exploded in the first quarter for a 19-0 run that ended the opening period with a 34-17 lead.
It was a lead they never relinquished with a 14-0 run in the second quarter helping them to a 47-37 halftime lead.
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Demar DeRozan top-scored for the Bulls with 22 points but Chicago never really threatened to turn things around in the second half.
Herro said he is trying to emulate Butler’s all-round contributions for Miami.
“A lot of people try to determine the outcome of games based on how many points someone scores and I think Jimmy Butler does the opposite,” he said.
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“He impacts the game in so many different ways, sharing the ball, making the right plays for his teammates and I tried to be as much of a Jimmy as I might be tonight, just trying to make the right plays, give my teammates shots and not force anything ,” he said.
“Obviously it’s a big team win for us overall, I’m just happy to be back in the playoffs, healthy and ready to fight,” he said.
The Celtics will be heavy favorites once morest Miami with Boston having racked up 64 wins this season.
Later on Friday, the final berth in the Western Conference playoffs is decided when the New Orleans Pelicans play host to the Sacramento Kings. (AFP/Z-3)
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