Herro leads shorthanded Heat into rematch with Celtics

MIAMI — Tyler Herro scored 24 points and was an assist shy of a tripledouble, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 21 points and the Miami Heat grabbed the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, running away from the Chicago Bulls 112-91 in a play-in tournament elimination game Friday night.

Kevin Love scored 16 and Bam Adebayo added 13 for Miami, which gets this as a reward: a rematch of the last two East finals against the Boston Celtics. It’s Round 1 this time, the Heat set to be huge underdogs against the runaway favorite to win the NBA title.

The Heat won’t have Jimmy Butler against Boston because of his injured right knee and played again without point guard Terry Rozier, still out with a neck injury.

No matter. They took control over the Bulls with a 19-0 run in the first quarter, and a 14-0 run midway through the second half ended all doubt. Herro finished with 10 rebounds and nine assists, and the Heat eliminated the Bulls in the last East play-in game for the second straight year.

DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points for the Bulls, who got 16 points, 14 rebounds and five assists from Nikola Vucevic. Coby White scored 13 for Chicago, which was trying to become the fifth team in the last 35 years to make the playoffs after not spending a single day all season over the .500 mark.

The 19-0 run — which matched Miami’s longest run of consecutive points all season, done two other times — put the Heat on top, turning an 11-6 deficit into an early 25-11 lead.

Jaquez and Nikola Jovic combined for 11 points in the burst, which fueled Miami taking a 17-point lead after one quarter and pushing it to 20 in the second quarter.

ELSEWHERE Andretti upset by Formula 1 snub

Mario Andretti said Friday he was deeply offended by the language Formula One Management used in denying his family and General Motors the opportunity to join the global motorsports series.

The 1978 Formula 1 world champion posted on social media he was “devastated” when F1 rejected Andretti and General Motors in late January in their application to expand the current grid to accommodate a two-car American team.

The F1 rejection came after a six-month review of Andretti's application and the reasoning for the denial was taken personally by both Mario and Michael Andretti, as well as GM.

Meanwhile reigning Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire will make his IndyCar debut on the streets of Long Beach on Sunday with Arrow McLaren as the 20-year-old Frenchman is the replacement for injured driver David Malukas.

NFL: Buffalo Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula are exploring the possibility of selling a non-controlling, minority interest in the franchise, the team announced.

A person with knowledge of the decision told the Associated Press the stake in the team the Pegulas would be preparing to sell would be about 25%. College gymnastics: Georgia has fired gymnastics coach Courtney Kupets Carter after seven seasons. As the Georgia coach, Kupets Carter was unable to duplicate the success she enjoyed as a gymnast. She helped Georgia win four national championships.