Miami Heat (37-45, 10th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Chicago Bulls (39-43, ninth in the Eastern Conference)
Chicago; Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bulls -1; over/under is 219
PLAY-IN GAME: The Bulls and Heat meet with the winner advancing to play for the eighth seed.
BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat hit the court for the NBA Playoffs Play-In Tournament. The winner moves on in the tournament to play for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
The Bulls are 28-24 against Eastern Conference opponents. Chicago ranks third in the league averaging 15.4 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 36.7% from deep. Coby White leads the team averaging 2.9 makes while shooting 37.0% from 3-point range.
The Heat are 24-28 in Eastern Conference play. Miami ranks ninth in the NBA with 33.7 defensive rebounds per game led by Bam Adebayo averaging 7.2.
The 117.8 points per game the Bulls average are 7.8 more points than the Heat give up (110.0). The Heat average 13.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.1 more makes per game than the Bulls give up.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nikola Vucevic is averaging 18.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists for the Bulls. Kevin Huerter is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Andrew Wiggins is scoring 18.0 points per game and averaging 4.5 rebounds for the Heat. Tyler Herro is averaging 22.5 points and 3.9 rebounds over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bulls: 7-3, averaging 121.4 points, 50.2 rebounds, 30.0 assists, 7.0 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.7 points per game.
Heat: 6-4, averaging 120.6 points, 47.1 rebounds, 28.2 assists, 9.6 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 49.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.2 points.
INJURIES: Bulls: Ayo Dosunmu: out for season (shoulder), Lonzo Ball: day to day (wrist), Tre Jones: day to day (foot), Josh Giddey: day to day (forearm).
Heat: Dru Smith: out for season (achilles), Pelle Larsson: day to day (ankle), Isaiah Stevens: day to day (foot), Alec Burks: day to day (back), Nikola Jovic: day to day (hand), Kevin Love: day to day (personal), Andrew Wiggins: day to day (hamstring).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
