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Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat predictions, odds: Who wins NBA play-in game?
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- Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat predictions, odds: Who wins NBA play-in game?
The Miami Heat will host the Chicago Bulls in an elimination round of the play-in tournament at 6 p.m. Friday (ESPN).
The winner will be the No. 8 seed in the NBA playoffs . It'll face No. 1 Boston , and Game 1 is set for noon Sunday.
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The two teams split the regular-season series, 2-2. Miami earned a 118-116 home win over the Chicago in the most recent meeting on Dec. 16.
Miami suffered a 105-104 road loss to Philadelphia in the first round of the play-in tournament on Wednesday. The Heat will be without Jimmy Butler , who suffered a sprained MCL against the 76ers and is expected to miss multiple weeks.
Chicago earned a 131-116 home win over Atlanta in an elimination round of the play-in tournament on Wednesday. Alex Caruso suffered an ankle injury, but he expects to play on Friday.
Here's a look at how the play-in matchup is projected to play out:
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Play-in tournament picks : Lakers at Pelicans | Warriors at Kings | Heat at 76ers | Hawks at Bulls | Kings at Pelicans | Bulls at Heat
First-round picks : Celtics vs Heat | Knicks vs 76ers | Bucks vs Pacers | Cavaliers vs Magic | Thunder vs Pelicans | Nuggets vs Lakers | Timberwolves vs Suns | Clippers vs Mavericks
More: 2024 NBA playoffs: Complete schedule, bracket breakdown, how to watch
The Oklahoman: Chicago 102, Miami 99
Justin Martinez writes: "Miami earned a 102-91 home win over Chicago in the final round of last season's play-in tournament. The Heat won thanks in large part to Max Strus and Butler, who each scored 31 points. But Butler is out for Friday's rematch, and Strus now plays for Cleveland . I'm going with the revenge-seeking Bulls, whose backcourt of Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu has made strides this season."
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BetMGM : Miami Heat (-2.5) is favored to beat the Chicago Bulls
Miami is a 2.5-point favorite to defeat Chicago on Friday.
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Over/under:206.5
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Moneyline:Miami -130 | Chicago +105
ESPN : Miami Heat has a 62.1% chance to beat the Chicago Bulls
ESPN gives Miami a 62.1% chance of winning on Friday.
More: OKC Thunder clinches top seed in West for NBA Playoffs with rout of Dallas Mavericks
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat predictions, odds for NBA play-in
