The Miami Heat are headed back to the playoffs.

Despite star forward Jimmy Butler's absence, the Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls by the final score of 112-91 on Friday in order to advance beyond the play-in tournament and clinch the No. 8 seed.

Miami jumped out to an early lead, owning a 34-17 advantage after the first quarter before leading by 10 at the half. The Bulls pulled to within seven points in the third quarter, although the Heat built up a double-digit lead once again after a pair of jumpers from Tyler Herro.

Herro nearly finished with a triple-double in 33 minutes of action, scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds while dishing out nine assists. He connected on 47.1 percent of his shots, including a 4-9 mark from behind the arc.

Rookie forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. stepped up in the frontcourt after Butler suffered a right MCL sprain on Wednesday. Jaquez Jr. scored 21 points, recording six assists of his own while shooting 50 percent from the field.

Fans were impressed with Miami's short-handed victory, as the Heat secured their fifth straight playoff appearance:

Head coach Erik Spoelstra's team will face a tall task in the first round, as the Boston Celtics await. The Celtics finished the regular season with the NBA's top record at 64-18, owning the best net rating in the association (via NBA.com). This will be the fourth time in the past five seasons that Miami and Boston have battled against each other in the playoffs.

The Heat are also expected to be without Butler, as Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported on Thursday that the six-time All-Star will miss "multiple weeks" due to his knee injury.

Still, Miami's ability to stifle opposing teams defensively was on full display against Chicago and could be the key to a possible first-round upset. The Heat will begin their series against the Celtics in Game 1 on Sunday.