We now know who the eighth seeds will be in the 2024 NBA Playoffs from the final two games of the Play-In Tournament. In the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat beat the Chicago Bulls 112-91, and in the Western Conference, the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Sacramento Kings 105-98. Both games were rather anticlimactic, and completely lacked drama. Bottom line is it is great to see this silly NBA Play-In tournament finished and we can now look forward to the NBA Playoffs which starts on Saturday.
In Friday action, we found out that the Heat are going to the NBA Playoffs via the play-in tournament again. Last year they went all the way to the NBA Finals, after playing in the play-in tournament. In the 21-point win over the Bulls, four Heat players reached double digits in scoring. Shooting guard Tyler Herro of Milwaukee, Wisconsin led Miami with 24 points, and in the process, had the double-double, as he had 10 rebounds. Small forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. of Irvine, California had 21 points, five-time All-Star power forward Kevin Love of Santa Monica, California had 16 points off the bench, and center Bam Adebayo of Newark, New Jersey had 13 points.
The Heat got off to a strong start in the game as they outscored the Bulls 34-17. They then outscored Chicago 35-23 in the third quarter. Miami actually had a 20-point lead at 3:42 of the second quarter when small forward Duncan Robinson of York, Maine made a three-pointer from 26 feet. Miami will play Boston in the first round.
The Pelicans’s most significant quarter was the second, as they outscored the Kings 32-21. They had six players in double-digits. Small forward Brandon Ingram of Kinston, North Carolina had 24 points, center Jonas Valanciunas of Utena, Lithuania had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the double-double, and small forward Trey Murphy III of Durham, North Carolina had 16 points. Meanwhile, three Pelicans players had double figures off the bench. They were center Larry Nance Jr. of Akron, Ohio (13 points), small forward Naji Marshall of Atlantic City, New Jersey (11 points), and point guard Jose Alvarado of Brooklyn, New York (10 points). New Orleans will play Oklahoma City in round one.
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