MIAMI (AP) — The chants started raining down in the fourth quarter. “We want Boston,” the Miami Heat crowd kept shouting, over and over. The fans got their wish. And a rematch of the last two Eastern Conference finals awaits in Round 1 this year. Miami — even with Jimmy Butler sidelined for several weeks with a sprained knee — is back in the playoffs. Tyler Herro scored 24 points and was an assist shy of a triple-double, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 21 points and the Heat grabbed the last spot
For the second consecutive season, the Miami Heat won the No. 8 seed in the NBA playoffs with a victory in the play-in tournament. The Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls, 112-91.
Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the next generation of NBA superstars have a big challenge ahead on the league's biggest stage.
DENVER (AP) — Michael Porter Jr.'s coaches and teammates are rallying behind the Denver Nuggets starting forward who's had a trying week as the NBA's reigning champions head into their playoff opener against the Los Angeles Lakers. Porter, 25, missed practice Friday to attend his younger brother Coban's sentencing in a drunken driving crash that killed a 42-year-old woman last year. Coban Porter, 22, a former guard at the University of Denver, received a six-year jail sentence, which came two da