The Heat's reward for making history is a matchup with the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers, who posted the second-best record in the NBA season this year. While both teams have frequently made the playoffs throughout the years, they have actually never played against one another.

The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 NBA Play-In Tournament. The Miami Heat escaped the Atlanta Hawks in Friday’s thrilling 123-114 overtime win to keep their season alive and advance to the NBA playoffs.

Tyler Herro scored 30 points as the Miami Heat reached the NBA playoffs with a thrilling 123-114 overtime defeat of the Atlanta Hawks in their Eastern Conference play-in clash on Friday. Miami become the first tenth-seed to reach the NBA playoffs via the play-in and they did so via two wins on the road,