The No. 1 seed Miami Heat hope to keep their season alive when they face the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics Friday at the TD Garden in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) and Boston leads the series 3-2. Below, we look at the Heat vs. Celtics odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Boston took control of the conference finals by clobbering Miami 93-80 in Game 4 Wednesday. The Celtics doubled the Heat up 32-16 in the 3rd quarter to key the victory.
Miami wing Jimmy Butler only posted 13 points on 4 of-18 shooting while Boston All-Star wing Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 47 points.
The Celtics are 3-2 against the spread (ATS) in this series with a plus-8.9 net rating and the total is 3-2 Over/Under (O/U).
Heat at Celtics odds and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:06 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Heat +330 (bet $100 to win $330) | Celtics -450 (bet $450 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Heat +8.5 (-110) | Celtics -8.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 201.5 (O: -107 | U: -115)
Heat at Celtics key injuries
Heat
- PG Tyler Herro (groin) questionable
- PG Kyle Lowry (hamstring) questionable
- SG Max Strus (hamstring) questionable
- PF P.J. Tucker (knee) questionable
- PG Gabe Vincent (hamstring) questionable
Celtics
- PG Marcus Smart (ankle) questionable
- C Robert Williams III (knee) questionable
[tipico]
Heat at Celtics picks and predictions
Prediction
Celtics 101, Heat 96
Money line
PASS because the Heat (+330) are too banged up and overmatched, but the Celtics (-450) are way too expensive for an outright bet in a clinch game.
Most of Miami’s backcourt rotation is on the injury report, Lowry is shooting just 21.7% in his 3 games played in this series with 8 assists to 7 turnovers. Herro, the Heat’s 2nd scoring option, was sidelined with an injury Games 3 and 4.
But, Miami is too well-coached and Boston is too reliant on 3-pointers to even think about laying it with the Celtics (-450).
PLAY: Free, daily sports pick’em contests. Play now!
Against the spread
LEAN HEAT +8.5 (-110) because they’ll muck Game 6 up and Miami can keep this game within 3 possessions if it hits a couple of momentum-swinging 3-pointers.
Also, the Heat are 21-12-1 ATS following a loss, 15-8 ATS as road underdogs, 17-11 ATS on the road vs. teams with a winning record, 4-0 ATS when spotted at least 7.5 points and the backdoor is wide-open with Miami desperate to stave off elimination.
However, if the Heat’s shooting woes continue and the Celtics get quality looks from deep then Boston could bludgeon Miami for a 3rd straight game.
Over/Under
Slight LEAN to the UNDER 201.5 (-107) because playoff games become lower scoring as a series winds down and that’s especially true for matchups featuring defenses as good as Boston’s and Miami’s.
Also, slightly more money is on the Under whereas more bets have been placed on the Over 201.5 (-115), per Pregame.com. Typically, it’s wiser to follow the money column of the betting splits since professional bettors put up more dough than public bettors.
Bet legally online with a trusted partner: Tipico Sportsbook, Sportsbook Wire’s official sportsbook partner in CO, NJ and soon IA. Bet now!
If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW, or try out our USA TODAY Parlay Calculator. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow Geoff Clark on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Additional NBA sports coverage:
HoopsHype | Celtics Wire | LeBron Wire | Lonzo Wire | Nets Wire | Rockets Wire | Sixers Wire | Thunder Wire | Warriors Wire | Rookie Wire | List Wire
Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1622]