Final NBA Play-In matchups: Bulls at Heat, Thunder at Wolves

MIAMI (AP) — It was October 19, the night theseason started for most NBA teams. Chicago went to Miami, OklahomaCity went to Minnesota.

Nearly six months later, here they are again: Chicago at Miami,Oklahoma City at Minnesota.

This time, the season is about to end for two teams.

The NBA’s play-in tournament wraps up Friday night with a pairof elimination games — the Bulls at the Heat for the No. 8 seed inthe Eastern Conference, followed by the Thunder at the Timberwolvesfor the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. The winners go on,the losers go home.

“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs this season,” Heat coach ErikSpoelstra said. “Nothing about this season has been easy.”

Chicago and Oklahoma City have already won road games to stayalive, at Toronto and New Orleans, respectively. They became thefirst No. 10 seeds to win on the road in the three-year history ofthe play-in tournament — and if they do it again Friday, they’regoing to the postseason.

“We know going there, it’s another great road test against ateam that’s seasoned and is coming off a loss and will look torebound and play to their identity and their style,” Bulls coachBilly Donovan said. “We have a lot to get ready for.”

The Bulls were 3-0 against Miami in the regular season.Minnesota took three of four from the Thunder in the seasonseries.

“This is a new opportunity, a new challenge in front of us,”Donovan said.

MATCHUPS

EASTERN CONFERENCE

NO. 10 CHICAGO (40-42, 1-0) AT NO. 7 MIAMI (44-38, 0-1)

Friday, 7 p.m., TNT

Season series: Bulls, 3-0

How they got here: Miami lost to Atlanta 116-105 on Tuesday,Chicago defeated Toronto 109-105 on Wednesday.

Previous play-in appearances: Both teams made their play-indebuts this week.

At stake: Winner plays Milwaukee in Game 1 on Sunday; loser’sseason is over.

Outlook: Miami is trying to avoid becoming the first team to go0-2 at home in a play-in tournament. … Chicago had the NBA’s bestscoring defense after the All-Star break, and Miami had the NBA’slowest scoring offense all season. … The matchup pits Heat guardKyle Lowry against Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan, longtime teammatesand backcourt standouts in Toronto. … Other ties that bind: Heatstar Jimmy Butler faces his former team, Heat forward Udonis Haslem( in perhaps the last game of his career ) facing his college coachin Donovan, and Bulls guard Patrick Beverley facing a team that henearly made back during Miami’s Big 3 era in the early 2010s; hewas an end-of-camp cut.

X-factor: Chicago held Miami to 34% shooting on 3-pointers inthe three regular-season meetings. Heat are 19-24 this season whenshooting no better than that from beyond the arc.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

NO. 10 OKLAHOMA CITY (40-42, 1-0) AT NO. 8 MINNESOTA (42-40,0-1)

Friday, 9:30 p.m., ESPN

Season series: Timberwolves, 3-1

How they got here: Minnesota wasted a 15-point lead and lost tothe Los Angeles Lakers 108-102 in overtime on Tuesday, OklahomaCity won at New Orleans 123-118 on Wednesday.

Previous play-in appearances: Both teams made the play-in forthe first time this season.

At stake: Winner plays Denver in Game 1 on Sunday; loser’sseason is over.

Outlook: Minnesota had the upper hand in much of the seasonseries, holding leads of 14 points in one game, 16 in another and22 in a third. The Thunder’s biggest lead in any of the four gameswas 12, and didn’t lead by more than six points in any of the otherthree games. … Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had games of 35, 33 and 32points against the Wolves, while Anthony Edwards had the high gamefor Minnesota in the season series with a 30-point contest. … TheWolves were 2-0 with Karl-Anthony Towns in the lineup against theThunder. … Minnesota is trying for back-to-back playoff appearancesfor the first time since 2003 and 2004. The Thunder haven’t madethe playoffs since 2020.

X-factor: Minnesota center Rudy Gobert returns after hisone-game suspension for the altercation with teammate KyleAnderson. He’s surely going to face pressure; how he responds mightbe critical.