A year later the same story was repeated and this Friday the Miami Heat got their ticket to the playoff by beating the Chicago Bulls in the play-in by a resounding 112-91, so they will face each other in the first round with Boston Celtics. Without the injured Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier, Miami was able to find other leaders on the court and completed an excellent collective job on defense. Tyler Herro almost reached the triple-double (24 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists) and the Mexican Jaime Jáquez Jr. also stood out with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
From the bench, Kevin Love contributed 16 points and 7 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan’s 22 points were of no use to the Bulls, very weak with 13 of 43 in triples, given the character of Erik Spoelstra’s team, which nullified key men of their rivals such as Coby White or Alex Caruso.
This first-round series between the all-powerful Celtics (first) and Heat (eighth) will be a repeat of last year’s exciting East final, in which Miami won after seven games (later losing the ring to the Denver Nuggets). This will also be the fourth meeting in the last five years in the postseason between Boston and Miami, with two wins for the Heat and one for the Celtics.
For their part, the New Orleans Pelicans overcame Zion Williamson’s injury this Friday in the play-in, beat the Sacramento Kings 105-98 and will face the Oklahoma City in the first round of the playoff Thunder. Without their main reference on the court, a Zion who was injured on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Pelicans pulled on character and determination to win the last playoff ticket in the West. On the other hand, the Kings, weighed down by the losses of Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter, closed a disappointing season after having been one of the revelations of the NBA last year.
Everything indicates that this was the last meeting with Sacramento for the Spanish Jordi Fernández, assistant coach of the Kings and who, in the absence of an official announcement, will be the new head coach of the Brooklyn Nets. The Kings have experienced a true and brutal ordeal this season against the Pelicans, who have won all six games they have played: four in the regular phase, the quarterfinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament and this one in the play-in.
Relentless once again against Sacramento, the Pelicans offered an excellent collective performance led by Brandon Ingram (24 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists), Jonas Valanciunas (19 points and 12 rebounds) and Trey Murphy (16 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists). The contribution of their bench was also essential with magnificent performances by Larry Nance Jr. (13 points), Puerto Rican José Alvarado (10) and Naji Marshall (11). New Orleans (eighth) will have the opportunity to take revenge on Oklahoma (first), who eliminated them in the play-in last year. For the Kings, stuck with a sad 11 of 41 in triples, De’Aaron Fox (35 points and 7 rebounds), Domantas Sabonis (23 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists) and Harrison Barnes (17 points) stood out.