NBA PLAYOFFS
Heat vs Celtics previous games: What happened in the 2023 regular season?
Both teams are fighting to get to the NBA Finals, with the Heat leading the series after pulling off the upset against the Celtics in Game 1.
Four teams are competing for glory after two playoff rounds where a few favorites like the Milwaukee Bucks, the Phoenix Suns, or the Golden State Warriors have been eliminated.
Two of them are the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, who are fighting in the East to access the NBA Finals, with Boston being the favorites to come out on top.
However, Miami, who previously defeated the Bucks and the New York Knicks, took the lead in the Eastern Conference Finals, winning Game 1 against Boston at TD Garden (116-123).
Jimmy Butler was the best player with 35 points, while Bam Adebayo added another 20 points to seal the victory.
The Celtics, meanwhile, were led by a solid Jayson Tatum, but Joe Mazzula’s men couldn’t avoid defeat and will be looking to bounce back in Game 2, which will also be played in Boston.
Heat vs Celtics: regular season
Before the start of the Conference Finals, Boston were the clear favorites to emerge victorious in the series and play their second consecutive NBA Finals, after losing last year to the Golden State Warriors.
Now, the 17-time NBA champions will try to avoid another defeat at home that would complicate things in their mission to get to the final round of the competition.
Some NBA insiders suggested that the series against the Heat wouldn’t be easy for Boston, as Erik Spoelstra’s pupils beat the Bucks quite easily in the postseason against all odds.
Moreover, during the regular season, Boston and Miami ended up with two wins for each team, which shows that the three-time champs are no pushovers.
The Celtics won the first two games this season (104-111, 121-134), with Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown being the best men in both games.
The Heat counterattacked in their next two games, defeating Boston (120-116, 98-95), with good teamwork that saw them win at TD Garden and Chase Center.
The Celtics ended second in the East at the end of the regular season, while the Miami Heat, eighth, had to take part in the Play-In Tournament to be able to feature in the NBA playoffs.