Bulls vs. Heat score, takeaways: Jimmy Butler leads Miami to Play-In Tournament win to secure No. 8 seed

The Heat will now advance to face the Bucks

The Miami Heat are officially qualified for the NBA's postseason following their 102-91 win over the Chicago Bulls in South Beach on Friday night. After a tight battle throughout the night, it was Miami that ultimately took control of the game in the final 12 minutes to secure the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Max Strus, of all people, was the star for the Heat tonight as the former DePaul Blue Demons standout put up a game-high 31 points, matching Jimmy Butler, while knocking down seven of his 12 attempts from beyond the arc in order to help lead Miami to a victory. Now, they will gear up for a matchup with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks as the Heat look to knock off the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Here are the biggest takeaways from tonight's game.

1. Big-game Butler

When the Heat trailed the Celtics 3-2 in last year's Eastern Conference finals, Jimmy Butler scored 82 combined points in Games 6 and 7 to very nearly send Miami to the NBA Finals. He came up just a bit short. He didn't on Friday. His 31 points undersell just how impactful Butler was down the stretch of this game. Almost every point Miami scored in the fourth quarter was created in some way by Butler.

He got the line 10 times in the game. He generated points off of turnovers. He was Miami's primary playmaker. Replace him with almost any other superstar and the Heat are going home right now. But Butler is one of the NBA's best do-or-die players. He may not play many regular-season minutes compared to his contemporaries, and he typically isn't a high-volume scorer either. But when the season is on the line, there aren't many players you'd take over Butler. 

2. The numbers game

The three most important shots in basketball are layups, 3-pointers and free throws. The Bulls get into the paint plenty, but they take the fewest 3-pointers in basketball and they attempt the fifth-fewest free throws. That inefficient style of basketball came back to haunt the Bulls big time in this game.

Only two Chicago players made 3-pointers in this game. Role players Alex Caruso and Coby White hit four each, but the rest of the team drew blanks. Meanwhile, the Heat lapped the Bulls in free throw attempts, 32-15. The final score may say that this was a double-digit game, but remember, the Bulls led with less than three minutes on the clock. The Bulls outplayed the Heat for most of the night.

But when you're relying on inefficient shots in the playoffs, the burden increases tremendously. Scoring inside is much more difficult in the postseason, so the mid-range shots Chicago lives off of become essential. The Bulls didn't make them at a satisfactory rate, and they had no other way of supplementing their offense. This roster might not be built to shoot 3-pointers, but if the Bulls plan to score enough to survive in the postseason, they are going to need to start firing away occasionally. 

3. A good omen

The Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks have faced off in the playoffs three times. Those matchups were in 2013, 2020 and 2021. On all three occasions, the winner of that series reached the NBA Finals. Could this season push that trend to four-for-four?

If the Bucks win as expected? Possibly. Milwaukee had the best record in the NBA this season and is favored to win the East. The Heat are in a more precarious position. Excitement of this win aside, they remain a flawed team that struggles to score in the half-court. But history tells us never to write off the Heat, and if they do somehow find a way past the Bucks, they'll likely have figured some things out that will help them compete against whoever else the Eastern Conference has to offer. 

[Apr 14, 2023 at 9:34 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Foreshadowing?

The Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks have faced off three times in the postseason: 2013, 2020 and 2021. The winner of each of those series has gone on to reach the NBA Finals.

[Apr 14, 2023 at 9:32 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

That's gonna do it

Three Max Strus free throws. A block Zach LaVine layup. A foul that sends Bam Adebayo to the line on the other end. That should do it. The Miami Heat will advance to the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs and face the Milwaukee Bucks.

[Apr 14, 2023 at 9:29 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

The lamp has been lit

Billy Donovan is challenging the foul call on that Max Strus 3-pointer. It looks like Miami is going to win this challenge, but with 39.8 seconds remaining, it's not as though the Bulls had better options.

[Apr 14, 2023 at 9:27 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Close call

Caleb Martin was trying to draw a charge on that DeRozan layup attempt. The whistle goes against him, but we get a ball don't lie moment when DeRozan misses the first free throw. Now Butler and DeRozan have each missed a critical free throw. DeRozan makes the second and it's 93-91 with 1:33 remaining.

[Apr 14, 2023 at 9:24 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Jimmy for the lead!

Miami trailed by three after that Coby White 3-pointer, but Jimmy Butler just took the lead back by making a layup and baiting Nikola Vucevic into an ill-advised foul. He missed the free throw, but the Heat lead 91-90. 

[Apr 14, 2023 at 9:21 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Taking what the defense gives you

The Bulls just made a very clever play to take advantage of Miami's defense. The Heat don't want to switch screens involving DeMar DeRozan because he's good at shooting over mismatches, so they ran a guard-guard pick-and-roll. That allowed Coby White, the screener, to free himself for a 3-pointer because the Heat didn't switch to cover him.

[Apr 14, 2023 at 9:20 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

A four-point swing

Zach LaVine missed that lay up, and then fouled Jimmy Butler on the rebound. That's huge because the Heat are in the bonus. That effectively makes his miss a four-point swing against the Bulls. Chicago can't afford to sacrifice points like that when the Heat are struggling to score from the field. 

[Apr 14, 2023 at 9:13 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

And-one tour

It's the early 2000's all over again because we're getting a bona fide And-One mixtape in this game. DeMar DeRozan and Jimmy Butler are sinking shots left and right and getting fouled in the process. 

[Apr 14, 2023 at 9:08 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Jimmy Butler answers

We had the DeMar DeRozan run. Now we're getting the Jimmy Butler run. That steal and layup cut the deficit to two for Miami, but Coby White answered with a 3-pointer to push the lead back up to 85-80 in favor of the Bulls.