The No. 1 seed Miami Heat stop by the TD Garden to face the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics Saturday for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC) with the best-of-7 series tied 1-1. Below, we look at the Heat vs. Celtics odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Boston evened the series by blasting Miami 127-102 Thursday in Game 2. The Celtics went into halftime with a 25-point lead, which they held by outperforming the Heat in three of the “four factors.”
Celtics SF Jayson Tatum scored a team-high 27 points, while PG Marcus Smart and SG Jaylen Brown chipped in 24 apiece. Tatum and Brown shot a combined 56.7% from the field (17 of 30) and Smart nearly put up a triple-double in his series debut, finishing with 12 assists and 9 rebounds.
Miami SF Jimmy Butler was sensational again in Game 3, scoring 29 points on 61.1% shooting (11 of 18), but no other Heat player scored more than 14 points.
Heat at Celtics odds and lines
- Money line (ML): Heat +190 (bet $100 to win $190) | Celtics -240 (bet $240 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Heat +5.5 (-107) | Celtics -5.5 (-115)
- Over/Under: 207.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
Heat at Celtics key injuries
Heat
- PG Kyle Lowry (hamstring) questionable
- SG Max Strus (hamstring) questionable
- PF P.J. Tucker (knee) questionable
- PG Gabe Vincent (hamstring) questionable
Celtics
- C Robert Williams III (knee) questionable
Heat at Celtics picks and predictions
Prediction
Celtics 105, Heat 101
Money line
PASS with a heavy “lean” to the Heat (+190) because I like their spread and generally will “sprinkle” on an underdog’s ML when betting them to cover.
But Butler didn’t get much support from teammates when this series was in Miami and role players typically perform better at home in the playoffs.
Also, the Heat’s ML will get juicier if Tucker and/or Lowry cannot suit up for Game 3, but Miami’s defense vs. Boston’s All-Star wings will be a question mark without Tucker.
PASS.