The Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves seal their spots in the NBA playoffs with victories in their respective eighth-seed matches on Friday night.

The Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves sealed their spots in the NBA playoffs with victories in their respective eighth-seed matches on Friday night.

The Heat advanced through the Eastern Conference section with a 102-91 triumph over the Chicago Bulls, while the Timberwolves saw off the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-95.

Max Strus and Jimmy Butler both tallied 31 points for the Heat, who have been rewarded with a first-round tie against the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks.

Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns led the way for a ruthless Timberwolves with 28 points and 11 rebounds, while Rudy Gobert also enjoyed a productive evening with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

The Minnesota outfit now face a daunting first-round battle with the Denver Nuggets - the runaway Northwest Division champions - in the Western Conference path.

The NBA playoffs begin on Saturday evening with number three seed Philadelphia 76ers hosting number six seed Brooklyn Nets at Wells Fargo Center.

Outside of the playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks were slapped with a $750,000 (£603,718) fine for resting big-name players in their defeat to the Chicago Bulls earlier this month, having shown a "desire to lose" in order to keep a top-10 pick for this summer's draft. body check tags ::

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