MIAMI (AP) — Tyler Herro scored 24 points and was an assist shy of a triple-double, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 21 points and the Miami Heat grabbed the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, running away from the Chicago Bulls 112-91 in a play-in tournament elimination game Friday night.
Kevin Love scored 16 and Bam Adebayo added 13 for Miami, which gets this as a reward: a rematch of the last two East finals against the Boston Celtics. It’s Round 1 this time, the Heat set to be huge underdogs against the runaway favorite to win the NBA title.
The Heat won’t have Jimmy Butler against Boston because of his injured right knee and played again without point guard Terry Rozier, still out with a neck injury.
No matter. They took control over the Bulls with a 19-0 run in the first quarter, and a 14-0 run midway through the second half ended all doubt. Herro finished with 10 rebounds and nine assists, and the Heat eliminated the Bulls in the last East play-in game for the second straight year.
DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points for the Bulls, who got 16 points, 14 rebounds and five assists from Nikola Vucevic. Coby White scored 13 for Chicago, which was trying to become the fifth team in the last 35 years to make the playoffs after not spending a single day all season over the .500 mark.
The 19-0 run — which matched Miami’s longest run of consecutive points all season, done two other times — put the Heat on top, turning an 11-6 deficit into an early 25-11 lead. Jaquez and Nikola Jovic combined for 11 points in the burst, which fueled Miami taking a 17-point lead after one quarter and pushing it to 20 in the second quarter.
PELICANS 105, KINGS 98
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Brandon Ingram scored 24 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 19 points and 12 rebounds, and New Orleans booked a spot in the NBA playoffs with a victory over Sacramento Kings in a play-in tournament elimination game.
The Pelicans won without leading-scorer Zion Williamson, who strained his left hamstring right as he reached the 40-point mark in a play-in loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
Undaunted, New Orleans used a balanced approach to improved to 8-5 this season without Williamson in the lineup. Six players scored 10 or more points, including reserves Larry Nance Jr. (13), Naji Marshall (11) and Jose Alvarado (10).
Trey Murphy III, starting because of Williamson’s absence, added 16 points for New Orleans.
De’Aaron Fox scored 35 points for Sacramento, and Domantas Sabonis had 23 points and 14 rebounds.
Chicago Bulls guard Dalen Terry, rear, attempts to steal the ball from Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro during the first half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game, Friday, April 19, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
April 25 – May 1, 2024
From clashes in Istanbul, to protests in Berlin, people around the world demonstrated on May Day.
Kenya, along with other parts of East Africa, has been overwhelmed by flooding.
The Olympic flame started its journey to France from Greece, sailing through the Corinth canal.
This gallery highlights some of the most compelling images made or published in the past week by The Associated Press from Europe and Africa. The selection was curated by AP photographer Armando Franca in Lisbon.
Follow AP visual journalism:
AP Images blog: http://apimagesblog.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apnews
X: http://twitter.com/AP_Images
Inter Milan's Marcus Thuram celebrates lying wrapped in a plastic sheet at the end of a Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Torino at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. Inter Milan had already clinched the Italian Serie A league title the week before. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, serves a ball to Mirra Andreeva, of Russia, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Smoke from pyrotechnics obscured the stadium as Monaco scored their side's first goal in the first few minutes during a French League One soccer match between Lyon and Monaco at the Groupama stadium in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
Icelandic horses are driven to their paddock for the first time in the season in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A young girl stands next to an eternal flame burning of the Unknown Soldier monument in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Police officers detain people who take part in a pro-Palestinians protest rally in Berlin, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Union members clash with Turkish anti riot police officers as they march during Labor Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
A till operator packs old Zimbabwean dollar notes into a shopping basket as customers use them to buy groceries in a supermarket in Harare, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)
Customers have breakfast in a restaurant while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez appears on a television broadcast in Madrid, Spain, Monday, April 29, 2024. Sánchez says he will continue in office "even with more strength" after days of reflection. Sánchez shocked the country last week when he said he was taking five days off to think about his future after a court opened preliminary proceedings against his wife on corruption allegations. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
People celebrate King's Day on the canals of Amsterdam, Netherlands, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)77
Pope Francis is greeted by Gondoliers upon his arrival in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Belem, the three-masted sailing ship carrying the Olympic flame to France, is being towed through the Corinth canal in Corinth, Greece, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)
People gather on a bridge where a woman's body was retrieved, after floodwater washed away houses, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Riot police use a water cannon during an opposition protest against "the Russian law" near the Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
People protest for human rights during a May Day demonstration in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
