Tyler Herro poured in 38 points, and the Miami Heat dominated the Chicago Bulls 109-90 on Wednesday night to advance in the Play-In Tournament.

Herro scored 23 points as Miami grabbed a 71-47 halftime lead, and the Heat knocked the Bulls out of the Play-In for the third year in a row. They play at Atlanta on Friday for a chance to meet top-seeded Cleveland in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Hawks lost to Orlando on Tuesday.

Herro made his first eight shots and was 13 of 19 in the game. The All-Star guard nailed three 3-pointers.

Andrew Wiggins had 20 points and nine rebounds and Bam Adebayo added 15 and 12 as the Heat got payback for a three-game sweep in the regular season.

Josh Giddey had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago and Coby White scored 17, though he shot 5 of 20. Nikola Vucevic finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

The Bulls got within 13 early in the fourth quarter, only to get shut down the rest of the way and miss the playoffs for the third year in a row.

Herro set the tone, making all eight shots as the Heat broke the game open in the first half. He was hardly a one-man show, with Wiggins scoring 12 in the half and Adebayo adding 11 points and seven rebounds.

It was 39-28 after the Bulls’ Matas Buzelis stole a pass and pulled up for a buzzer-beating 3 to end the first quarter, waking up the Chicago crowd.

Miami responded in a big way, going on a 16-5 run to start the second and outscoring Chicago 32-19 in the second quarter.

Wire to wire. #WINNING pic.twitter.com/aJueEjEBap

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 17, 2025

Mavs rout Kings behind 44-point second quarter

Klay Thompson scored 16 of his 23 points in Dallas’ dominant second quarter to earn redemption for his dud in Sacramento a year ago, helping the Mavericks beat the Kings 120-106 to advance in the Play-In Tournament.

One year to the day when Thompson missed all 10 shots in his final game for Golden State in a play-in loss in Sacramento, Thompson fueled the win with four 3-pointers in Dallas’ 44-point second quarter. That turned the game into a laugher and kept the Mavericks’ chaotic season alive for at least one more game.

Dallas advanced to play at Memphis on Friday night for the chance to get into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the West. The winner of that game will open the playoffs on Sunday at top-seeded Oklahoma City.

The Mavs have undergone a tumultuous season after trading young superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a seismic trade that brought Anthony Davis to Dallas and vitriol from the fan base to the organisation.

Star point guard Kyrie Irving went down with a season-ending knee injury shortly after that trade, ending any realistic hopes of another deep playoff run after making it to the NBA Finals last season.

But thanks to Thompson’s shooting and a strong defensive effort, they still have a shot to make it into the playoffs.

Dallas opened the second quarter with a 20-6 run fueled by back-to-back 3s from Thompson. Thompson hit two more 3s later in the quarter as the Mavs built the lead to 23 points at the half, removing any drama.

Davis led Dallas with 27 points. DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points for the Kings, and Zach LaVine added 20.

MAVS WIN!!!@Chime // #MFFL pic.twitter.com/EFBOjDScAD

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) April 17, 2025