No 10th seed has ever advanced out of the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament.
But after the Heat and Mavs’ wins on Wednesday, two of them are going to have a chance on Friday.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
April 17, 2025
Heat-Story Repeating: Tyler Herro’s 38 paces 10-seed Heat past 9-seed Bulls
Way Of Klay: 10th seeded Dallas moves on thanks to vintage 2nd quarter from Klay
Herro’s Journey: The Heat guard just added a new peak to an incredible year
Friday Look-Ahead: A few of the stories to know heading into Friday’s finales
Play-In Game 3 History: Trends to know from the Tournament’s first 4 years
BUT FIRST … ⏰
A quick look at what’s coming Friday…
The SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament sends its final two teams to the Playoffs — and two more home — on Friday, when 8th-seeded Atlanta hosts 10th-seeded Miami at 7:30 ET on TNT, followed by 8th-seeded Memphis hosting 10th-seeded Dallas (9:30 ET, ESPN).
1. HEAT-STORY REPEATING: MIAMI ADVANCES TO PLAY-IN FINAL
Miami had been here before.
After climbing out of the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament two years in a row, the Heat knew the stakes.
They knew the opponent … one that had beaten them all three times they’d met this year.
And in a win-or-go-home showdown against a Bulls team Miami had eliminated in the last two Play-Ins, the Heat came through again.
Miami 109, Chicago 90: Tyler Herro erupted for a postseason career-high 38 pts – including a perfect, 8-for-8, 23-pt first half – to send the Heat past the Bulls and into a winner-take-all Play-In finale with Atlanta on Friday (7 ET, TNT). | Recap
- On The Line Friday? The 8th and final seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs for the winner, and a trip home for the losing team
- From The Jump: Miami shot 61 percent in the 1st quarter en route to a 39-28 lead
- Rally Stopped: The Heat stretched the lead to 24 and while Chicago cut it to 13 early into the 4th, the Bulls never got closer than that
- Herro-ic Effort: Herro’s 38 points ties him for the sixth most ever in a Play-In game, alongside Jimmy Butler III on Tuesday night and Trae Young, who Miami will face Friday
- Coach Erik Spoelstra: “We’re only halfway there. We didn’t have the luxury of having the one game and then you’re automatically in. Guys feel great about this win and really put a lot into this.”
Play-In Pedigree: Miami has now played in five Play-In games, tied for most among all teams. And last night, they looked ready from the start
- Star Duo Sets Tone: Herro scored 16 in the first, on 6-of-6 shooting (2-2 from deep), while Andrew Wiggins chipped in 10 pts of his own
- Early Statement: The Heat’s 39 first-quarter points fell just one shy of the most points a team’s scored in a Play-In opening quarter – three teams have put up 40
- Team Effort: Wiggins finished with 20 pts, Bam Adebayo with 15 pts & 12 reb and Davion Mitchell with a +19 after a hounding defensive effort
1 Game Away: On Mar. 21, the Heat had just lost 10 straight games, putting themselves in danger of missing the postseason. Since then, they’ve won nine of 13, and stand 1 win from their 6th straight Playoffs
- Spoelstra: “This is not something that could just happen overnight. I feel like there’s been some good things happening the last several weeks.”
Bulls’ Run Ends: Josh Giddey (25 pts) and Coby White (17) led the way for Chicago, whose season comes to an end after a run that made them one of the league’s hottest teams from Mar. 1 onward.
- Said White: “We didn’t really have game-plan discipline. We beat them in the regular season. We thought if we just do what we normally do, then we’ll be good.
- “But obviously, they’ve got guys that have been to the Finals. They’ve got guys that know what it takes. They got a head coach who’s one of the best head coaches in the league. They came in and they were the better team tonight.”
2. THE WAY OF KLAY: THOMPSON POWERS MAVS PAST KINGS
Ezra Shaw/NBAE via Getty Images
The Mavericks finished Wednesday’s 1st quarter down two.
They went into half up 23.
At the center of it? A heat check from one of the all-time greats.
Mavericks 120, Kings 106: Klay Thompson dropped 16 of his 23 points in a 44-19 second quarter for the Mavericks, sending Dallas past Sacramento and into a Friday Play-In finale against Memphis (9:30 ET, ESPN). | Recap
- Klay Wasting No Time: Famous for his quick scoring binges, Thompson hit all four of his second-quarter threes in a 3-minute span
- Coach Jason Kidd: “He’s a champion. … I thought he had great looks that didn’t go down, but he continued to keep playing and continued to keep making plays for others. When you do that, good things happen.”
- AD Goes Big: Anthony Davis went for 27 pts, 9 reb and 3 blks, improving to 4-0 in Play-In games
- Dallas Duo: The Mavs frontcourt of AD and Daniel Gafford combined for a +21 and 5 blocks
Clutch Klay: Thompson has often found another gear when facing elimination, with boosts over his career averages in his PPG (20.1 vs 19.1), 3PM (3.9 vs 3.2) and 3P% (42.6% vs. 40.3%) across 14 elimination games going into Wednesday.
- Klay Mode: He’s made four straight threes 107 times in his postseason career, second only to Steph Curry (165)
- Who’s That Ahead Of? Ray Allen at 89, Damian Lillard at 83 and James Harden at 75
3. HERRO’S JOURNEY
Justin Casterline/Getty Images
By the time Tyler Herro missed his first shot of the night, early in the third quarter, his team was up 71-50 – with 23 of those points coming from him.
He’d started red-hot. His team followed.
And again, a team that Miami hadn’t beaten all year, Herro added an exclamation point to a season that’s seen him bring his game – and his leadership – to a whole new level.
Said Bam Adebayo: “It’s good for him to have these types of moments. In past years, he’s been injured and (had) his name thrown in the mud. To have a year like this, I’ve got the utmost respect for the kid.”
First, The Stats: Herro’s postseason career-high 38 set a new high in a season full of them for the 25-year-old.
- Raising The Bar: His 23.9 PPG and 5.5 APG are both career-bests, along with his impressive career-highs are his 47.2% FG% and 60.5% TS%
- Shouldering The Load: His 27.1% Usage Rate ranks second-highest of his career
Even More Of Late: Since the Jimmy Butler III trade, Herro’s taken on more – his 28.3% Usage Rate ranks 8th in the league in that period (min. 30 GP & 30 MPG) - Class Of 3: His 56 20-pt games this year made him the third Heat player with 56+ in a year, joining LeBron James & Dwyane Wade
- Unlimited Range: Herro hit 251 threes this year, most in his career, and second-most for a Miami player in a single season ever
- First All-Star: The league took notice. Herro was selected by NBA coaches for his first All-Star appearance in February – making good on the confidence he’d shown since a kid
Justin Casterline/NBAE via Getty Images
Now, The Story: Herro’s also taken on a greater role in leading the Heat this year – and his work over the past month helped re-route Miami’s season from a 10-game skid to within a game of the Playoffs.
- Said Spoelstra in December: “Tyler’s doing it in so many different ways. On the ball, off the ball, in transition. He makes a lot of right plays too. Now he’s stepping into that role, he can command a team.”
- The Motor: Since the Heat’s loss on Mar. 21, Herro ranks second in the NBA in NetRtg – behind only Kawhi Leonard (min. 10 GP & 30 MPG)
- Why? Dominance on both ends. He’s 7th in OffRtg since then, and 2nd in DefRtg since then
- Instant Impact: In that time, Miami’s nearly 19 points better per 100 possessions with Herro on the court (20.4) vs. off (1.9)
- Adapting His Game: He’s also covering more ground this year than ever before: his 2.78 miles per game puts him 4th in the league
Can Herro & Miami Make History? Already the first Play-In team to reach the Finals (2023), can Miami make more history Friday and become the first 10-seed to advance?
- Said Herro: “We have a bunch of guys who come in every day, put their hard hats on and they work. The season hasn’t exactly been how we wanted it to [be] but we come in we work we continue to get better every day.”
4. FRIDAY LOOK-AHEAD: WIN OR GO HOME
The bracket after Wednesday night.
After two win-or-go-home games Wednesday, the stakes take another step up on Friday.
Win? A date with the No. 1 seed in the NBA Playoffs.
Lose? That’s a wrap on 2024-25.
We’ll dive more into each matchup in Friday’s edition, with Heat-Hawks at 7 ET on TNT and Mavs-Grizz at 9:30 on ESPN … but let’s get you started here.
No. 10 Heat @ No. 8 Hawks: Trae Young, Tyler Herro, Dyson Daniels and Bam Adebayo lead their teams into a battle of opposing styles – Atlanta plays with the third-fastest pace in the NBA (Chicago was 2nd), and Miami the fourth-slowest.
- Rubber Match: The teams split the season series 2-2, with both squads picking up two wins at home
- Play-In Vets: This game will mark the sixth Play-In game for both the Hawks and the Heat – the most of any teams
- Undefeated: Miami’s 2-0 in Play-In Game 3s. Atlanta’s 1-0
- Whoever Moves On … faces a Cleveland team they’ve beaten this year, with Atlanta 2-1 and Miami 1-2 vs. the Cavs. Atlanta’s one of just five teams to beat Cleveland twice this year
Stories To Watch:
- Ice Trae: Young ranks in the top 10 for clutch buckets this season, leading Atlanta to 21 clutch wins
- Tough Matchup: Trae Young may see a lot of Davion Mitchell, who held him to 12-28 FGs and 3-10 from 3 – and forced 9 TOs – in five games
- No Limit vs. Great Barrier Thief: Can Daniels, who just racked up the most steals since 1995-96, slow down Herro? Herro’s put up 23 points on 10-for-18 shooting when guarded by Daniels this year, but Daniels has forced 6 turnovers
No. 10 Mavs @ No. 8 Grizzlies: Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and the Grizz welcome the Mavs to Memphis – where the Grizzlies have thrived.
- Grind City Groove: After falling in front of a vocal Golden State crowd, Memphis will have one of the loudest crowds in the league behind it
- Season Series: Memphis is 3-1 against Dallas this year, and 2-0 since February began
- Ja Went Off: In two meetings with Dallas this year, Morant (who injured his ankle against the Warriors Tuesday, but indicated he would play) put up 31 pts and 6 ast
Stories To Watch:
- Big Men Battle: Keep an eye on JJJ and Zach Edey vs. AD and Gafford. The Grizzlies’ pair posts a 105.6 DefRtg & 12.7 NetRtg together
- AD averaged 30.5 pts, 15 reb & 2 blk in two games vs. Memphis while in L.A. this year
- Can Bane Stay Hot? After going for 30 against the Warriors, can Desmond Bane (50% FG% vs Mavs this year) keep it going at home?
5. PLAY-IN GAME 3 HISTORY
Bryan Cereijo/NBAE via Getty Images
Four years. Eight finales.
Electricity from start to finish.
As we get ready for the ninth and 10th decisive Game 3s in SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament history, spin through some early history.
Good To Be Home: Home teams are 5-3 in the 8-seed game, with the Western Conference going to OT in the event’s inaugural year.
- 2024: Home teams went 2-0, with New Orleans beating Sacramento and Miami taking down Chicago. Both lost in the First Round
- 2023: Another 2-0 run for home teams, with Minnesota taking down OKC and Miami beating Chicago – on the way to becoming the first Play-In team to reach the NBA Finals
- 2022: The away teams took this one, with 9th-seeded New Orleans beating the 8-seed Clippers and the 9th-seeded Hawks beating 8th-seeded Cleveland – with Trae going for 32 of his 38 in the second half to lead the comeback
- 2021: Home and away split, with 8th seeded Washington holding serve against 9-seed Indiana, but 9th seeded Memphis beating 8th seeded Golden State in a classic OT showdown
This Year: Both the Grizzlies & Hawks are set to host on Friday after losing on the road – with both primed to get some juice from their home gyms.
- No Place Like Home: The Grizz are 26-15 at home this year, 10th in the NBA
- Back To The ATL: While the Hawks have put up a 21-19 record at home this year, that ranks them just 19th in the NBA
Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images
The Road To 8: Across the Play-In’s first four years, teams who’ve come into the Tournament as the 7 seed, 8 seed and 9 seed have secured the final Playoff spot.
- Entered As 7-Seed: The 2024 Pelicans and 2023 Heat turned into 8-seeds after entering as 7’s
- … As 8-Seed: The 2024 Heat, 2023 Wolves and 2021 Wizards all claimed the final Playoff spot after entering in 8th
- … As 9-Seed: The 2022 Pelicans & Hawks and 2021 Grizzlies took the 8th seed after entering in 9th
- … As 10-Seed: Yet to happen! Could the Heat or Mavs become the first?
Top Play-In Performers: Six players have dropped 30+ in the win-or-go home Game 3, led by Steph in that iconic 2021 West game.
- Steph Curry, 39 @ MEM 2021
- Trae Young, 38 vs. CLE in 2022
- De’Aaron Fox, 35 vs NOP in 2024
- Jimmy Butler III & Max Strus, 31 @ CHI in 2023
- Brandon Ingram, 30 vs. LAC in 2022
