Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics Prediction 4-27-24 Picks

The Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat collide in a crucial NBA playoffs Game 3 at the Kaseya Center on Saturday night. Here’s a Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat Prediction.

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics would have been full of confidence following their big win in ther series opener, but they came crashing back down to Earth with a 111-101 loss to the Heat in Game 2 on Wednesday. Jaylen Brown led the team in scoring with 33 points on 13 of 23 shooting, Jayson Tatum added 28 points on 10 of 20 shooting while Derrick White chipped in with 13 points and four assists but no other player finished in double figures in scoring. As a team, the Celtics shot 46 percent from the field and 12 of 32 from the 3-point line as they looked to be in control when they poured in 34 points in the second quarter to take the narrow lead into halftime, only to go ice-cold and get outscored by 53-40 in the second half as they struggled to keep the Heat off the 3-point line and they got just 12 points from their bench players.

Miami Heat

Meanwhile, the Miami Heat will be feeling pretty good about themselves after stealing home-court advantage with a gritty win over the Celtics on Wednesday to square up the series. Tyler Herro led the team in scoring with 24 points and 14 assists on seven of 13 shooting, Caleb Martin and Bam Adebayo scored 21 points each while Jaime Jacquez Jr chipped in with 14 points. As a team, the Heat shot 49 percent from the field and a sizzling 23 of 43 from the 3-point line as they did their best to hang with the Celtics in the first half, before they played excellent defense to restrict the Celtics to just 18 points in the third quarter where they started to pull away.

Miami Heat Team Facts

• The Heat have lost each of their last 13 games as home underdogs.
• The Heat have failed to cover the spread in 11 of their last 12 games as home underdogs.
• Seven of the Heat’s last eight home games against Atlantic Division opponents have gone OVER the total points line.

Boston Celtics Team Facts

• The Celtics have won each of their last eight Saturday road games.
• The Celtics have covered the spread in each of their last six Eastern Conference First Round games as favorites following a loss.
• Each of the Celtics’ last seven night games against Southeast Division opponents have gone OVER the total points line.

Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat Prediction

The Celtics are going to have a full squad for this game, while the Heat are still without Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier and maybe Delon Wright who is questionable for this one. The Celtics lost their focus for a second, and it cost them in Game 2 as their late-game struggles came back to the surface. The Celtics are still obviously heavy favorites on the road, but the Heat showed once again that they will never just lay over, and I think we’re going to see another example of that in this one. I think the Celtics reclaim the series lead, but I like the Heat to keep this one to single digits.