The Chicago Bulls have locked up the ninth seed in the NBA playoffs, setting them up for a play-in showdown with the Miami Heat.
The Bulls secured ninth with a victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night. Chicago had a slight chance at jumping up to ninth, but the Atlanta Hawks bested the Philadelphia 76ers to put themselves in eighth.
The Bulls have one more game remaining on Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Despite the fact that they can’t move up in the standings, head coach Billy Donovan stated, “I would expect all of our guys to play.”
Every Bulls starter played at least 28 minutes on Friday’s win over the Wizards. Matas Buzelis led all starters with 32 minutes played while Kevin Huerter played 31 minutes. Julian Phillips, Nikola Vucevic, and Coby White all played 28 minutes.
Usual starter Josh Giddey did not play.
The Bulls cruised to victory against the Wizards, scoring 52 points in the paint compared to 36 for the Wizards. Phillips led all Bulls scorers with 23 points on 7-11 shooting. Buzelis had 20 points, while Vucevic had 15 points and White had 16 points.
Chicago got 38 points from their bench led by Talen Horton-Tucker with 12.
The Bulls won the season series against Miami, 3-0. The two teams met on April 9, a 119-111 victory for Chicago.
Giddey secured a triple double in the contest with 28 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists.
