Boston hosts Miami to open Eastern Conference finals

Tue, May 16, 2023
Other News (AP)

Miami Heat (44-38, eighth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Boston Celtics (57-25, second in the Eastern Conference)

Boston; Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. EDT

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NBA LINE: Celtics -8.5; over/under is 210.5

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Celtics host first series matchup

BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Celtics host the Miami Heat in game one of the Eastern Conference finals. Boston and Miami tied the regular season series 2-2. The Heat won the last regular season matchup 98-95 on Jan. 25 led by 30 points from Bam Adebayo, while Jayson Tatum scored 31 points for the Celtics.

The Celtics are 34-18 against conference opponents. Boston ranks seventh in the league with 26.7 assists per game led by Marcus Smart averaging 6.3.

The Heat are 24-28 against Eastern Conference opponents. Miami has a 14-8 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jaylen Brown is shooting 49.1% and averaging 26.6 points for the Celtics. Tatum is averaging 28.3 points over the last 10 games for Boston.

Kyle Lowry is scoring 10.1 points per game and averaging 3.0 rebounds for the Heat. Jimmy Butler is averaging 27.6 points and 6.1 rebounds over the last 10 games for Miami.

LAST 10 GAMES: Celtics: 6-4, averaging 114.9 points, 44.1 rebounds, 24.3 assists, 5.1 steals and 6.9 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.3 points per game.

Heat: 7-3, averaging 111.6 points, 41.8 rebounds, 24.1 assists, 7.6 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 45.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.0 points.

INJURIES: Celtics: Danilo Gallinari: out (knee).

Heat: Victor Oladipo: out for season (knee), Tyler Herro: out (hand).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.