Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics Preview
The Heat are coming off their first loss of the NBA restart, falling 107-103 to the defending champion Toronto Raptors. This marks the third straight playoff team they will face in Orlando. They opened with a win against the Denver Nuggets ... Jae Crowder is expected to start his third straight game after replacing Meyers Leonard ... The Heat have lost both games against the Celtics, the last a 109-101 defeat Jan. 28 in Miami ... After missing two weeks becuase of COVID-19 quarantine, All-Star Bam Adebayo is averaging 16 points and 8.5 rebounds since his return. The Heat have also recieved sparks off the bench from center Kelly Olynyk and guard Goran Dragic. On Sunday, Olynyk became just the second player in franchise history to score 20 points in a fourth quarter, joining Dwyane Wade. Dragic had a team-high 25 points against the Raptors. ... The Celtics claimed their first victory of the restart on Sunday by defeating the Portland Trailblazers 128-124 ... Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are Boston's first trio of 20-point scorers since the 1966-67 season ... A win would put the Celtics one step closer to securing the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. They are 2.5 games ahead of the fourth-seeded Heat.
Projected starting lineups :
MIAMI
Forward: Jimmy Butler
Forward: Jae Crowder
Center: Bam Adebayo
Guard: Kendrick Nunn
Guard: Duncan Robinson
BOSTON
Forward: Gordon Hayward
Forward: Jayson Tatum
Center: Daniel Theis
Guard: Jaylen Brown
Guard: Kemba Walker
Game time: 6:30 p.m.
TV: Fox Sports Sun, TNT
Line: Celtics -3
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