The Chicago Bulls sealed their Play-In Tournament fate with a 119-89 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday night in front of 21,400 fans at the United Center.
The Bulls are set to host the Miami Heat in the Play-In Tournament on Wednesday night. A defeat in the contest means elimination, while the winner will play the loser of the matchup between the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic for the right to play the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in the first round of the playoffs.
This will be the third year in a row the Bulls will face the Heat in the Play-In Tournament. The Heat won the first two meetings, including a 112-91 rout last season in Miami.
Billy Donovan has kind words for Erik Spoelstra
Following the Bulls’ win over the Wizards, head coach Billy Donovan praised the Heat organization and head coach Erik Spoelstra for how they compete.
“Obviously, an enormous amount of respect (for the Heat), just the way they compete, the way they play,” said Billy Donovan, per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Got a lot of respect for (Spoelstra)]. Like most teams throughout the course of an NBA season, there’s always things you go through as a team, and certainly they went through their fair share this year.
“We’ve gone through ours. It’s one of those games for both teams where it’s one-and-done. It’s a great opportunity. The guys earned the right to be able to play in the game, and that’s a great thing. I’m excited about it.”
The Chicago Bulls swept the Miami Heat in the regular season
The Heat defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 153-104 on Friday night to improve their record to 37-44. The Bulls swept Miami 3-0 in the regular season series, including a 119-111 win at the United Center on Wednesday.
Like the Bulls, the Heat were sellers at the trade deadline. They traded Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors in an exchange that netted them Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, a protected first-round pick, and Davion Mitchell from the Toronto Raptors.
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‘Problem’: Chicago Bulls have troubling injury news surface before Play-In Tournament
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