It will be Heat-Bulls on Friday at Kaseya Center in win-or-go-home game
The Miami Heat needs to do something it has yet to do this season to avoid elimination: defeat the Chicago Bulls.
With the Bulls rallying from a 19-point deficit to defeat the Toronto Raptors 109-105 on Wednesday night as part of the NBA’s play-in tournament, the Heat now knows it will host the Bulls in a win-or-go-home game on Friday at 7 p.m. to close out the Eastern Conference’s play-in tournament. The game will be televised exclusively on TNT.
What went wrong vs. Hawks and what needs to be better Friday for Heat to keep season alive
The winner of Friday’s matchup between the Heat and Bulls will clinch the East’s No. 8 playoff seed and a best-of-seven first-round series against superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, which closed with the NBA’s top record at 58-24. Should the Heat advance to take on the Bucks in the first round, Game 1 of that series would be Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at Fiserv Forum and will be televised by TNT and Bally Sports Sun.
The schedule for the rest of the Heat’s potential first-round playoff series against the Bucks: Game 2 this upcoming Wednesday at 9 p.m. in Milwaukee on NBA TV and Bally Sports Sun, Game 3 on Saturday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Miami on ESPN and Bally Sports Sun and Game 4 on Monday, April 24 in Miami at a time still to be determined.
If needed, Game 5 would be Wednesday, April 26 in Milwaukee, Game 6 on Friday, April 28 in Miami, and Game 7 on Sunday, April 30 in Milwaukee. The times and national TV information haven’t been announced for those games.
The loser of Friday’s matchup between the Heat and Bulls will be eliminated and miss the playoffs. The last time the Heat missed the playoffs was in the 2018-19 season.
The Heat was forced into Friday’s play-in game by Tuesday night’s 116-105 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Meanwhile, the Hawks clinched the East’s seventh playoff seed and a first-round series against the second-seeded Boston Celtics with Tuesday’s win over the Heat.
If this season’s head-to-head results are any indication, the Bulls enter with a big edge over the Heat.
The Heat went 0-3 against the Bulls this season, losing the three games by a combined margin of 32 points.
The Heat and Bulls last played just a few weeks ago, when the Bulls defeated the Heat 113-99 in Chicago on March 18. Heat guard Kyle Lowry did not play in that game on the front end of a back-to-back set as part of the team’s maintenance plan for his left knee.
Tickets for Friday’s game between the Heat and Bulls are already on sale. Tickets can be purchased online at Heat.com/postseasontickets and Ticketmaster.com and in-person at the Ticketmaster Box Office at Kaseya Center on game days, which is open three hours before tipoff.
