The Boston Celtics avoided a 4-game sweep in the Eastern Conference Finals with a dominant win in Game 4 which brings this series back to Boston for Game 5. Oddsmakers have gone back to their early-series pricing since the Celtics are back to being nearly 10-point favorites for this game, even though the TD Garden hasn’t been the best of luck for them in the playoffs. Can Boston push the series back to South Beach, or is this where the series ends? Let’s get into the odds, betting lines and our expert’s predictions for Game 5 between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.
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Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat spread, odds & betting lines
Odds for Celtics vs Heat courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Point spread: Celtics -8; Heat +8
Total points over/under: 215.5 points
Money line odds: Celtics -295; Heat +245
Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat expert picks
Celtics vs Heat money line pick: Heat +8 (-110)
The Boston Celtics were able to avoid a sweep as they defeated the Miami Heat in Game 4, 116-99 on Tuesday night. The Celtics will hope to fight another day as they look to avoid elimination on Thursday night for Game 5 in Boston. In Game 4, the Celtics were able to knock down 3s as they were 40% from the 3-point line, going 18-40. If the Celtics want to avoid elimination, they would need to continue making 3s at this rate and get the same performance out of First Team All-NBA Jayson Tatum. Tatum played a great game, finishing with 33 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. All the Celtics starters scored in double figures while Grant Williams gave the Celtics a necessary spark off the bench as he scored 14 points including 4 3s.
What caused the Heat to lose a 9-point lead they had in the 3rd quarter was giving up a lot of 3 pointers and more importantly, turnovers as they had 16 turnovers in the game, and at one point in the 3rd quarter, there were about 3 or 4 straight possessions in which the Heat turned the ball over. I expect the Heat to limit their turnovers and keep this game competitive for Game 5. The Heat as an underdog has been covering, not only this series, but in the entire playoffs. The Heat have won 3 straight games outright as an underdog and in the last 11 games and have covered 9 out of 11 games. These two teams are evenly matched given watching the last 4 games, so for us to be getting the Heat at this number is surprising. Heat +8 is the play.
Be sure to check out our full Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics predictions
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Celtics vs Heat over/under total pick: Over 215.5 points (-110)
In 3 out of the 4 games in this series, the total has gone over. In Game 4, the total just barely went under the number that it is currently set at. Looking at the situations for both teams, the Celtics are in do-or-die mode as they are on the brink of elimination and the Heat are looking to get back in the Finals for the first time since 2020. This could quite possibly be a competitive game where it goes back and forth and may go into overtime which will be great, as this is a great spot to take the over 215.5.
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