Heat battle Bulls in NBA Play-In Tournament on TSN
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The NBA Play-In Tournament continues, with the Miami Heat battling the Chicago Bulls Wednesday in a do-or-die game.
You can watch the Bulls host the Heat LIVE on TSN3/4/5, TSN.ca and the TSN App, with coverage beginning at 7:30p.m. ET / 4:30p.m. PT.
The seventh and eighth seeds in each conference kicked off the play-in tournament on Tuesday, with the Golden State Warriors beating the Memphis Grizzlies to clinch the seventh seed in the West, and the Orlando Magic thumping the Atlanta Hawks to clinch the seventh seed in the East.
The path for the ninth and 10th seeds is a little more complicated - a win on Wednesday earns the right to play the loser of Tuesday's game on Friday, with that winner earning the eighth seed in each conference.
Chicago (39-43) enters as the nine seed and a victory at home over 10th-seeded Miami (37-45) will earn them a chance to qualify for the playoffs with a victory over the Hawks.
This is the fifth year of the play-in tournament, and history has not been friendly to team participating in this game.
The ninth seed has qualified for the playoffs just three times out of eight chances, while the 10th seed has yet to qualify.
Chicago trounced Miami 119-111 on Apr. 9, their third-last game of the season. Josh Giddey led the Bulls with 28 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists in that game. That completed the regular-season series sweep for Chicago over Miami.
The Heat are led by guard Tyler Herro, who averaged a career-high 23.0 points per game this season.
Miami dealt with drama surrounding star forward Jimmy Butler's discontent throughout the season until he was traded to the Warriors on Feb. 6, and won just 12 of their final 32 games after the trade.
The Bulls have undergone a roster turnover as well, seeing key contributors DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso and Zach LaVine depart via trade over the past 12 months.
Now both sides meet with a chance for a new set of leaders to make their mark and push towards a playoff berth.