Herro Leads Heat over Bulls; Balanced Effort Gives Mavericks Comfortable Win over Kings

The final two 2025 NBA play-in teams were decided on Wednesday night as the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks won in convincing fashion on the road. In Chicago, the Heat won 109-90, and in Sacramento the Mavericks walked away with a 120-106 victory. The Heat will now face the Atlanta Hawks, who lost 120-95 to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, on Friday evening for the 8th seed and the right to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in Round 1. The Mavericks will visit Memphis at 9:30 p.m. on Friday for the right to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in Round 1. 

From the United Center on Wednesday, Tyler Herro started the game 8-for-8 for the Heat, leading their charge with 38 points (5 rebounds, 4 assists) on 13-for-19 shooting, 3-for-7 from deep. Herro shot the ball very well and got to the basket for finishes inside. He delivered the type of performance that he needs to put up for the Heat going forward as their primary guard and wing player. 

The Heat have a unique roster in that they can roll out one of the top defensive lineups with Davion Mitchell, Haywood Highsmith, Andrew Wiggins, Bam Adebayo, and Kel’el Ware. The Heat limited the Bulls to 40% shooting. Coby White, 20.4 points on 45%, was 5-for-20 (3-for-12 from deep) for 17 points. Nikola Vucevic was 6-for-13 for 16 points and 12 rebounds. Playmaking guard Josh Giddey turned in 25 points and 10 rebounds but made 9-of-21 shots and only two 3-point shots out of seven attempts. Sharpshooter Kevin Huerter scored 10 points on 3-for-7, while Matas Buzelis put up 9 points and 6 rebounds on 4-for-9 shooting. 

Along with Herro’s 38, Andrew Wiggins scored 20 points with 9 rebounds, though he took 20 points (8 makes) to score his 20. Bam Adebayo was 6-for-16 for 15 points and matched Vucevic for a game-high 12 rebounds. Kel’el Ware scored 6 points on 3-for-8 but had 9 rebounds. Mitchell was great off the bench, with 15 points and 9 assists, 5-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from deep. 

Miami and Atlanta is an intriguing match-up, with Trae Young and Tyler Herro figuring to duel at the guard spots, two playmakers who both make their respective teams go. With Clint Capela out of the lineup, the Heat have a clear inside advantage with Adebayo and Ware. Rookie Zaccharie Risacher will be in for a tough night dealing with Wiggins. 

In Memphis on Friday, Ja Morant’s health will be key in whether the Grizzlies can advance. They will play a Maverick team that dominated the Kings for the most part on Wednesday.

Klay Thompson (8-for-11, 5-for-7) put together a vintage performance with 23 points (16 in the second quarter), while Anthony Davis scored a team-high 27 with 9 rebounds (9-for-23, 3-for-6 from downtown). P.J, Washington was just 5-for-15 and 1-for-6 from 3-point range but scored 17 points. Brandon Williams scored 17 points off the bench and Dante Exum 11. Big man Daniel Gafford also put together quality minutes with 9 points and 4 rebounds in 21 minutes. 

The Kings, playing at home, played flat, outscored 44-19 in the second quarter, a period in which they made 7 field goals and had 9 turnovers. With a roster boasting at one time or another all-stars DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine (who played together in Chicago) and Domantas Sabonis, one would think that they would have produced a better effort. DeRozan was 13-for-28 (2-for-5 from 3-point range) for 33 points and 7 rebounds, though Sabonis was limited to just five makes on 13 attempts for 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists. LaVine was just 8-for-19 (4-of-10 from 3-point range) for 20 points and 9 assists. The Kings committed 18 turnovers to the Mavericks’ nine. 

The Kings parted ways with General Manager Monte McNair on Friday morning after five seasons - as reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania - and three consecutive years of 40+ wins after 16 years without making the playoffs. Under McNair, the Kings had a .488 winning percentage. Scott Perry, the former GM of the New York Knicks (2017-2023) will be replacing McNair.

LaVine and DeRozan, despite being teammates in Chicago for three seasons, do not play effectively together. Similar players, LaVine shoots more from the perimeter, but a lot of times LaVine will manage possessions by himself, resulting in late-in-the-clock shots. It will be interesting to see the roster changes that go on for the team this off-season. 

For the Mavericks, General Manager Nico Harrison, who has been routinely and repeatedly crushed for the Luka Doncic trade, can take a breath for one more day as the Mavericks prepare for their game against the Grizzlies on Friday. The Grizzlies took three out of four in the regular season from the Mavericks, but the Mavericks will have a clear interior advantage with Davis, Gafford, and Dereck Lively. Jaren Jackson Jr. will be crucial and will need to play a big game for the Grizzlies. Memphis does have a convincing advantage at the guard spots with Morant and Desmond Bane, though if the Mavericks wing players (Thompson, Naji Marshall) play up to standard, they will be able to compete. 

Both should be exciting games on Friday night.