The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Miami Heat have secured the last two spots in the NBA playoffs.
The Heat prevailed in the play-in duel with the Chicaco Bulls on Friday with 102:91 and will meet the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round on Sunday. The Timberwolves dominated the Oklahoma City Thunder, especially in the second half, and earned a first-round series against the Denver Nuggets with a 120:95. The Bucks and the Nuggets were the best teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences in the main round.
In the Heat, Jimmy Butler and Max Strus impressed with 31 points each. Bam Adebayo had a poor evening on offense, hitting just one of nine shots, but still had a big hand in his side’s playoff qualification with 17 rebounds.
At Minnesota, Rudy Gobert was allowed to play again after his suspension and contributed 21 points and 10 rebounds. As in the loss to the Los Angeles Lakers three days earlier, the best player for the Timberwolves was Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 28 points and 11 rebounds. Anthony Edwards also recorded a double double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.