The top-seeded Celtics and eighth-seeded Heat will meet in the postseason for the fourth time in five years when they battle in the opening round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs beginning Sunday in Boston.
The series is also a rematch of the last two Eastern Conference finals.
Miami knocked off the Bulls, 112-91, in a play-in tournament elimination game Friday night. Tyler Herro had 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, while rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 21 points
The Heat will face a tougher test against Boston without six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, who is out for the entire series with a knee injury.
However, Miami is in a familiar position. Last season, the Heat became the sixth No. 8 seed to beat the No. 1 seed in the first round of the playoffs after eliminating the Bucks in five games.
The Celtics finished the regular season with the league’s best record and is poised for a title run. Boston is led by All-Star Jayson Tatum, who averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists in the the regular season.
Defensively, Boston is stout with Jrue Holiday, who recently signed a four-year, $135 million contract extension. In his first season in Boston, Holiday was the starting point guard, taking the place of Marcus Smart, and averaged 12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.9 assists.
The Celtics swept the three regular-season series with the Heat.
Game 1 of the first round NBA Eastern Conference playoff game between Celtics vs. Heat game will air on ABC. The game can also be streamed on Sling.
Sling is the home for the avid sports fans offering a range of sports channels so you can always cheer for your favorite teams with channels like ESPN, TBS, TNT, NFL Network, FS1 and more.