Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves Clinch the Last Playoff Berths

The Miami Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves are the last two teams to reach the NBA playoffs. After their last night’s wins, we have completed brackets in both conferences. 

Heat Routinely Solves Chicago

The Heat was better than the Bulls, 102-91, thus avoiding a catastrophic scenario in which they missed the playoffs. After losing to the Hawks in the first game of the tournament, there was plenty of pressure on the players and Erik Spoelstra, but they managed to cope with it and secure at least four games with the top contenders for the NBA title, the Milwaukee Bucks. 

Chicago opened the game poorly, and the hosts utilized that, creating a 14-point gap during the opening period and keeping the same until the end of the third. Though, the Bulls came back in the late part of that third sequence, having a surge and reaching a five-point lead, their biggest of the game. It appears that the guests from Illinois spent all of their power to make that run, and when the Heat responded, there was no life left among the Bulls to resist.

Jimmy Butler and Max Strus both had 31 points each, with the only one with double-digit besides them being Tyler Herro, who had 12 points, eight boards and seven assists. On the other side, the Bulls had DeRozan score 26 buckets with nine assists, while the Montenegrin center Nikola Vucevic added 12 points and nine boards. Zach LaVine ended the night with just 15 points, 6-for-21 from the field. 

The Heat will meet the Milwaukee Bucks up next. So far this year they’ve met four times, and the result in the seasonal series is 2-2. In the 2020 East semis, we’ve seen the Heat eliminating the Bucks in five games, while in the 2021 first round, the Bucks swept the rivals.

Timberwolves Strong Against OKC

The Timberwolves showed quality against the Thunder, beating the rivals from OKC 120-95. Minnesota had to catch up following a slower start, but as time went by, the hosts took over the wheel,, breaking the rivals and reaching a 29-point advantage in the second half. 

Karl-Anthony Towns led the winning team with a double-double, 28 points, and 11 boards, while Rudy Gobert responded well after his suspension. The Frenchman was a massive factor in the Timberwolves’ game, and he, too had a double-double, 21 buckets and 10 rebounds.

Anthony Edwards didn’t repeat a bad performance like against the Lakers. The Antman scored 19 buckets with ten rebounds and six assists. Mike Conley delivered. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had the team-high with 22 points, but his shooting percentages were extremely low, 5-for-19, with seven boards. Lugentz Dort and Jalen Williams both had 17 buckets, and that was it from the Thunder scorers. 

Minnesota now faces a much tougher challenge as they meet with the top seed in the West, the Denver Nuggets, who did slow down the pace in the recent few events but are still among the top four contenders for winning the Larry O’Brien trophy. 

The playoffs start this Saturday night in Philadelphia, where the 76ers host the Brooklyn Nets.