Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat Game 7 Prediction, NBA Odds
A trip to the NBA Finals is on the line Sunday as the Miami Heat prepare to host the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Miami forced the deciding game with a 111-103 road victory in Boston on Friday, backed by a monster performance from Jimmy Butler.
The Celtics are 2.5-point favourites to win Game 7, while the total is set at 197.5 on the NBA odds.
Celtics vs. Heat NBA Playoffs Betting Odds
Counting the regular season, this will be the 10th and final meeting between the teams this year. It’s been an incredibly close head-to-head, with Boston holding a slight 5-4 edge in wins. The total has also been split, with the Over hitting five times, four of which came in this playoff series.
The Celtics have been a great cover option on the road as they’re 11-1 against the spread in their last 12 games away from TD Garden. They’ve also covered in four of their last five games in Miami and hit the Over in eight of their last 10 conference finals games. Boston sits at +270 to win the NBA championship, sandwiched between the Heat and the favoured Golden State Warriors.
Miami will likely be feeling confident about this game as they’re a commanding 10-2 straight up in their last 12 home games. It’s worth noting, however, that those two losses came against Boston in this series (Game 2 and Game 5). This team has struggled to put points up lately, but they’ve still managed to hit the Over in eight of their last 10 conference finals games and 10 of their last 13 dates against teams with a winning straight up record. The Heat are +588 to win the NBA championship.
Boston Celtics
The first five games of this series were all pretty much over by the start of the fourth quarter, but Boston actually took a three-point lead with under five minutes to go in Game 6, the first time the lead has changed in the fourth quarter in this series. Unfortunately, they gave up 11 of the game’s next 13 points. Jayson Tatum led all Celtics players with 30 points and nine rebounds. Derrick White scored 22 points coming off the bench, including 11 in the fourth quarter. Jaylen Brown added 20 points, while Al Horford had nine boards.
Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart (sprained right ankle) and Robert Williams III (sore knee) played after testing out their injuries pregame. Smart and Williams will both likely be game-time decisions again on Sunday.
Miami Heat
It’s been 10 years since LeBron James scored 45 points in Boston to help the Heat avoid elimination in Game 6 of the conference finals en route to the first of back-to-back titles, but Butler outdid the King on Friday, finishing with 47 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Butler had 17 points in the fourth quarter as he looks to lead Miami to their second Finals appearance in three years. Kyle Lowry also stepped up, dropping 18 points and 10 assists before fouling out with a little over two minutes left. Max Strus had 13 points and P.J. Tucker added 11.
Lowry (hamstring), Strus (hamstring) and Tucker (knee) were all listed as questionable, but made it into the starting lineup. Tyler Herro missed a third straight game with a strained groin, which is a huge loss considering he’s the team’s second-leading scorer behind Butler. There has been no update on Herro’s status for Game 7.
BOS
MIA