The Miami Heat have come up short in each of the last three months when facing the Chicago Bulls. As a result, they’ll open the postseason at the United Center as the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference play-in round.
In order to play one more game beyond Wednesday’s 9-10 matchup, the Heat must find a way to secure a different result. Erik Spoelstra has won head-to-head matchups in play-ins against Billy Donovan in each of the past two years, but is just 13-16 against his coaching counterpart after his Heat has suffered three losses to the Bulls in a 70-day span.
An inability to hold leads or get a handle on Bulls star Josh Giddey has hindered Miami, and if you don’t study history, you’re doomed to repeat it. Spoelstra will be reminding his team of how they’ve come up short, so we’ll do the same here. Below is a snapshot at how the meetings between these teams unfolded:
Feb. 4 – Bulls won 133-124 at United Center
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Miami had a couple of days to prepare for this game after opening February with a win in San Antonio but fell despite a 70-point first half and a 12-point lead with just over 10 minutes remaining. Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis shot 10-for-10 to share top scoring honors with Giddey (24 points).
Ayo Dosunmu and Lonzo Ball, each out for the year, were in Chicago’s starting five. Miami was two days away from moving Jimmy Butler, who was banished from the team, so its bench consisted of the currently injured Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Terry Rozier and Alec Burks. Only Burks is expected to see extensive action in this play-in game.The teams combined to hit 36 3-pointers, firing up 85.
March 8 – Bulls won 114-109 at Kaseya Center
This marked the third loss during the Heat’s 10-game skid last month, but was the first game they were favored in. After strong performances against the Cavs and Timberwolves, Miami was expected to handle Chicago at home, led 36-24 after a quarter and entered the fourth up 89-78. The Heat again fell apart in the fourth, lost the rebounding battle and were caught from behind despite the Bulls shooting 13-for-43 from 3-point range.
Andrew Wiggins led Miami with 22 points, but Kyle Anderson was still catching DNPs from Spoelstra and Rozier remained a key reserve, scoring 15 points and hitting five 3-pointers. Giddey finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, while Zach Collins added 18 points and 15 rebounds. Nikola Vucevic sat, but the Bulls did have their trade deadline acquisitions, Tre Jones and Kevin Huerter. Jones had a huge steal and bucket in the final minute, while Giddey knocked down a huge 3-pointer late to help seal the comeback win.
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April 9 – Bulls won 119-111 at United Center
In a game Miami needed to give itself a chance to claw out of the No. 10 seed, it again led after a quarter but were terrorized by Giddey, who finished with 28 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists. Vucevic also shined with 20 points, 11 boards and eight assists, while Huerter added 22 points and seven assists. Coby White missed all five of his 3-point attempts but picked it up in the fourth quarter and finished with 18 points. Buzelis added 17, so all five Chicago starters scored in double-figures.
Wiggins returned from a lengthy absence due to hamstring issues for the Heat and played well, but wasn’t as explosive as he had been before his injury. Adebayo shot just 6-for-15 and will need to be better. Tyler Herro scored 30 points but was criticized for pulling up for a 3-pointer instead of taking a wide open layup following a steal with Miami down five in the game’s final minute. Davion Mitchell was the Heat’s best player, finishing with 17 points, eight assists and four steals.
Tony Mejia is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at tnyce1414@gmail.com
The curtain is coming down on Hard Rock Cafe’s Bayside Marketplace location after more than three decades on the downtown waterfront.
The rock ’n’ roll themed restaurant will close its doors August 19 after its lease with the city came to an end and will not be renewed, the Hard Rock confirmed in an email to The Real Deal. A spokesperson for the Hard Rock did not immediately respond to why the lease was not renewed or disclose the square footage and seating capacity.
A spokesperson for the City of Miami-owned Bayside Marketplace said the space will be redeveloped for another concept. The next tenant was not disclosed.
New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation holds the ground lease for Bayside Marketplace. A representative for Ashkenazy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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In 2020, Ashkenazy filed an eviction lawsuit against the Hard Rock Cafe alleging over $300,000 in unpaid rent amid the pandemic. The case was dismissed with prejudice in 2022, court records show.
At the time, the lease required the restaurant to pay $500,000 in base rent annually plus a percentage of its sales, according to court records.
More than 100 employees will lose their jobs as a result of the closure, according to a WARN notice filed by the Hard Rock Cafe. The stand alone waterfront building includes a main dining room, mezzanine, patio areas and event spaces.
Founded in 1971, Hard Rock Cafe opened its Miami location in 1993. The restaurant is part of Hard Rock International, which has been owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida since its 2007 acquisition of the company and operates cafes, hotels, casinos and live entertainment venues worldwide, plus naming rights for the Miami Dolphins’ home stadium.
Bayside Marketplace was one of the hardest hit retail centers in South Florida during the pandemic. The Hooters there closed in 2021 and was taken over by sports bar Black Market Miami, the Miami Herald previously reported. Other retailers and restaurants that have closed include Sun & Sea Brazilian Bikinis, Bavaria Haus and Express, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2024.
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The waterfront retail and restaurant hub is heavily reliant on tourists. Margaritaville opened there in 2024, and popular fast-casual Mexican chain Coyo Taco opened this month. Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Chili’s, Foot Locker and Victoria’s Secret are longtime tenants.
Downtown Miami’s retail market is showing signs of softening, according to Colliers. Retailers in the downtown submarket shed 44,430 square feet of space, and vacancy reached 6.3 percent. Developers remain bullish on the downtown core, with nearly 64,000 square feet of retail space under construction and asking rents averaging $52.50 per square foot.
The Miami Worldcenter has been a major recent driver of much of that retail development and leasing.
Total inventory square footage for the downtown area is more than 3.4 million square feet.
Read more
Bayside Marketplace sues to evict Bubba Gump, Hard Rock Cafe and three other tenants
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Take a look at the new Bayside Marketplace in downtown Miami
SkyRise Miami developer settles lawsuit with theme park company over $1M refund
Bayside Marketplace is planning another high-rise entertainment venue with a view
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — A man is facing new charges connected to the fatal shooting of a teenager in 2019.
Warren Pollock, 25, has been charged with murder and attempted murder in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Rodney Hinds Jr.
According to police, surveillance video captured Pollock shooting into a car parked at the Shell gas station on the corner of Northwest 183rd Street and Eighth Avenue back on Saturday, October 26 of 2019 just before 1 a.m.
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Authorities said new evidence led detectives to Pollock, who was already in custody for an unrelated murder case.
He remains behind bars at the Broward Sheriff’s Office Main Jail on no bond.
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David Dwork
David Dwork joined the WPLG Local 10 News team in August 2019. Born and raised in Miami-Dade County, David has covered South Florida sports since 2007.
It was the blockbuster deal of the NBA offseason: After years of will-he/won’t-he, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has been traded to Miami.
It also feels like the first domino of what will be some other big moves — including possibly a Jaylen Brown bidding war and trade. At NBC, we’ve explained the Antetokounmpo trade, named its winners and losers, and broken down how it will impact fantasy teams. Still, the fallout from this trade just keeps coming. Here are some other notes and analysis surrounding Antetokounmpo’s move to Miami.
Jaylen Brown bidding war?
Boston tried to say, “We weren’t shopping Brown, it was only because this was Giannis Antetokounmpo.” Except a few years back, they said the same thing when Brown was rumored to be part of a trade offer for Kevin Durant. From Brown’s perspective, you don’t want to be the person in the relationship where your partner is always looking around for an upgrade.
Other teams are expecting Boston to make Brown available, and there could be a bidding war, something articulated well by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on the network’s “Get Up.”
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“What I expect to happenis a bidding war for Jaylen Brown. In the most recent days, teams have been preparing for this eventuality, that it wouldn’t be the Boston Celtics who won the Giannis sweepstakes and that there would be a Jaylen Brown market. And now we’re going to watch that. I think it’ll take time to play out.”
If Brown becomes available, look for Houston and Atlanta to be at the front of the line for him, with a number of other teams — Portland has said it’s interested — in the mix. The challenge will be matching his salary, which is $57.1 million next season and totals about $183 million over the next three years. Brown is coming off his best season as a pro, averaging 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.
Boston kept young players out
Why did Milwaukee ultimately choose the Miami offer over Boston? In part because, while Brown would have been the best individual player the Bucks could have gotten in return, they wanted more — specifically a young player like Baylor Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez, and Boston would not put them in the offer, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.
Boston’s final offer was Brown and two unprotected first-round picks. Milwaukee preferred Miami’s offer… or at least one key person did.
Bucks co-owner Haslam pushed for Miami trade
Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam also owns the NFL’s Cleveland Browns — a team that dealt with a trade demand from future Hall of Famer Myles Garrett. Then came the Antetokounmpo saga with the Bucks.
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That led Haslam to push for the “certainty” of the Miami offer because he didn’t want to see Brown come to Milwaukee and force his way out in a couple of years, something Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports reported right after the trade went down.
Report: Haslam a ‘driving force’ in Giannis trade
Mike Florio looks at Jimmy Haslam’s reported role in the blockbuster Giannis Antetokounmpo trade and analyzes Haslam’s involvement as owner of the Cleveland Browns.
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That was a concern of others in the Milwaukee front office, reports Sam Amick and Eric Nehm at The Athletic, who add there had been signs in recent weeks that Brown didn’t really want to land in Milwaukee.
Herro happy
Brown may not have wanted to go to Milwaukee, but Tyler Herro — who is a Milwaukee native — is excited to go home in the trade, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes.
Sources: Tyler Herro is thrilled about a fresh start and playing for his hometown team the Milwaukee Bucks. Herro always envisioned returning home at some point during his NBA career.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 23, 2026
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Except Herro may not be staying in Milwaukee—there are multiple reports that the Bucks are listening to offers to trade him again. At the front of that line may be Detroit, which is looking for shooting and secondary ball-handling to pair with Cade Cunningham, and Herro fits that bill.
Is Anthony Edwards next?
Once one superstar is traded, the insatiable NBA trade rumor machine starts looking for the next star who might be on the move.
Is it about to be Anthony Edwards’ turn in the spotlight? ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said on the latest Hoop Collective Podcast, “The NBA vultures are swirling around Ant in anticipation of him potentially becoming the next superstar who’s available in the trade market.” Multiple reports in recent years have said Edwards has been frustrated with the team building in Minnesota, dating back to when it traded away Karl-Anthony Towns to save money.
This is not happening fast. Minnesota has no intention of trading Edwards right now, and he still has three fully guaranteed years at $156.9 million left on this contract. There is no pressure to move him, and Edwards would deny he is even thinking about leaving.
That said, teams file these kinds of things away and just wait.
