Miami Heat (46-36, eighth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Boston Celtics (64-18, first in the Eastern Conference)
Boston; Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Celtics -13.5; over/under is 208.5
EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Celtics host first series matchup
BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Celtics host the Miami Heat to begin the Eastern Conference first round. Boston went 3-0 against Miami during the regular season. The Celtics won the last regular season matchup 110-106 on Feb. 11. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 26 points, and Tyler Herro led the Heat with 24 points.
The Celtics are 41-11 in Eastern Conference games. Boston is the Eastern Conference leader with 46.3 rebounds per game led by Tatum averaging 8.1.
The Heat are 32-20 against Eastern Conference opponents. Miami is 8-4 in games decided by less than 4 points.
The 120.6 points per game the Celtics score are 12.2 more points than the Heat allow (108.4). The Heat average 110.1 points per game, 0.9 more than the 109.2 the Celtics allow to opponents.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tatum is scoring 26.9 points per game with 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists for the Celtics. Payton Pritchard is averaging 15.6 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 54.7% over the last 10 games.
Bam Adebayo is averaging 19.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists for the Heat. Herro is averaging 12.6 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Celtics: 7-3, averaging 116.7 points, 45.7 rebounds, 29.0 assists, 8.1 steals and 7.0 blocks per game while shooting 49.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.8 points per game.
Heat: 7-3, averaging 116.1 points, 43.8 rebounds, 27.6 assists, 8.3 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 48.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 104.6 points.
INJURIES: Celtics: Jrue Holiday: day to day (knee), Derrick White: day to day (ankle), Jayson Tatum: day to day (rest), Al Horford: day to day (rest), Jaylen Brown: day to day (rest), Kristaps Porzingis: day to day (rest).
Heat: Terry Rozier: out (neck), Josh Richardson: out for season (shoulder), Jimmy Butler: out (mcl).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
