The 2025 NBA Playoffs are officially set—and it took two wild play-in games on Friday night to lock it in.
In Atlanta, the Miami Heat punched their ticket with a thrilling 123-114 overtime victory over the Hawks, led by a red-hot Tyler Herro, who poured in 30 points and hit clutch shots down the stretch.
Miami becomes the first No. 10 seed in league history to make the playoffs through the play-in, winning back-to-back road games in Chicago and Atlanta to keep their season alive. Next up? A tough opening-round series against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers starting Sunday.
“We’ve been through everything this season,” Herro said postgame. “Every time they made a run, we responded. We were built for this.”
The Heat led by 17 early and took a 62-53 lead into halftime, but Atlanta refused to fold. The Hawks rallied to take a late fourth-quarter lead behind Trae Young (29 points) and Onyeka Okongwu (28 points, 12 rebounds), with Young’s driving layup tying the game at 111 with just 1.1 seconds left.
But in overtime, it was all Heat. Davion Mitchell caught fire, knocking down three triples in the extra frame while Herro added two more to close it out.
Grizzlies Finish the Job in the West
Over in Memphis, the Grizzlies sealed the final playoff berth in the Western Conference with a convincing 120-106 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
Despite battling an ankle sprain, Ja Morant played through the pain—literally—and finished with 22 points and 9 assists, saying afterward: “I couldn’t feel it. That’s why I was out there.”
Memphis came out blazing, jumping to a 15-point lead by the end of the first quarter and never looking back. They’ll now face the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.
“It’s a big challenge,” Morant said. “They’re a complete team. We’ve got to stay locked in and play our style.”
The Mavericks, meanwhile, closed out a disappointing campaign that saw Luka Dončić traded mid-season to the Lakers. Anthony Davis, who came to Dallas in that blockbuster deal, tried to carry the load with 40 points and 9 rebounds, but was visibly limited by nagging injuries.
What’s Next
The Heat and Grizzlies both head into the playoffs as underdogs, but momentum is on their side. Whether they can carry that magic into their first-round matchups remains to be seen—but Friday proved one thing: they’re not going down quietly.
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