MIAMI — The Chicago Bulls crashed out of the NBA Play-In tournament with a 112-91 collapse against the Miami Heat on Friday, ending another disappointing season without making the playoffs.
Friday’s game was supposed to be a lighter challenge for the Bulls after Heat star Jimmy Butler was ruled out of the game due to an MCL injury suffered in Wednesday’s opener against the Philadelphia 76ers.
With the same stakes at stake last season in the play-in tournament, the Bulls had dominated the first three quarters – until Butler took over in the final minutes to steal a victory en route to a final NBA. But with the Heat’s key player off the board Friday, the Bulls looked well positioned to make the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
Instead, they collapsed.
After an unusually hot shooting night Wednesday in their first play-in game against the Atlanta Hawks, the Bulls made just 13 of 43 from behind the 3-point arc — and shooting 38 percent. in the field. Coby White only scored 13 points after dropping 42 against the Hawks two nights prior. The Bulls coughed up 17 points off 12 turnovers and struggled mightily against the Heat’s overwhelming defensive pressure at the rim.
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting, but it wasn’t close enough to balance the offense.
“DeMar was the only one to score in that first half,” coach Billy Donovan said. “It was difficult for us when we weren’t scoring and they were scoring. I think our guys were trying to compete. There were some plays where our guys were trying to mix things up a little bit and trying to get to the glass and create second chance opportunities.
“Our guys tried to fight in a very, very tough shooter.”
The Heat — who earned the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and will face the top-seeded Celtics in the first round starting Sunday in Boston — weren’t perfect and their offense was streaky. They went on a 19-0 run to take a commanding lead in the first quarter, then went five minutes without scoring in the second quarter. But the Bulls were never able to capitalize on those moments as their shots fell ice cold from all areas of the court.
And the Heat absorbed every mistake with a scorching shooting performance, finishing 14 of 33 from 3-point range.
The Bulls finished the season with a 39-43 record, missing the playoffs and finishing below .500 for the second straight season.