Pregame

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Boston Celtics

All eyes will be on the 3-point line on Saturday when the Miami Heat host the top-seeded Boston Celtics in Game 3 of their first-round NBA playoff series.

In Game 1 on Sunday, host Boston prevailed 114-94. The Celtics made 22 3-pointers, shooting 44.9 percent from deep.

Miami made just 12 3-pointers, shooting 32.4 percent.

In Game 2 on Wednesday, also in Boston, Miami prevailed, 111-101, tying the best-of-seven series, 1-1. The Heat made 23 3-pointers, setting a franchise postseason record. The Heat shot 53.5 percent from deep. Boston made just 12 3-pointers, shooting 37.5 percent.

Miami's Tyler Herro scored just 11 points in the series opener, shooting 4 of 13 overall. On Wednesday, he scored a team-high 24 points, making 7 of 13 shots, including 6 of 11 from deep.

The Heat also got 21 points each from Bam Adebayo and Caleb Martin.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called Martin, "the X-factor of X-factors."

Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler, who is out for several weeks due to a knee injury he suffered in the play-in round, is the Heat's spiritual leader. But he has passed the metaphorical baton to Herro.

"(Butler) texted me to take the team and lead the guys," Herro said.

Herro did just that on Wednesday, serving up a game-high 14 assists.

Losing Butler has been a big blow for the eighth-seeded Heat. He helps the team across the board, averaging 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.3 steals.

He also averages a team-high 7.7 free throws, making 85.9 percent, and it is that skill of getting to the line and converting that is especially valuable late in games.

The Heat are also missing Terry Rozier, who is averaging 19.8 points this season in his two stops, including Charlotte.

Due to those injuries -- and the fact that the Celtics had the best regular-season record in the NBA this season -- Miami was not given much of a shot in this series.

But now the Heat return home with confidence. They also know that they knocked off the Celtics, 4-3, in last year's Eastern Conference Finals.

Then again, the Heat struggled at home this season (23-18). In fact, the Celtics had a better road record (27-14) than Miami's performance at home.

Overall, Boston finished 18 games ahead of the Heat in the standings this year, which should give the Celtics confidence.

Certainly, though, it will help Boston if Kristaps Porzingis plays better than he did in Game 2, when he was held to eight points on 1-for-9 shooting, including 0 of 4 from deep.

For the season, he averaged 20.1 points, and he had an effective field-goal percentage -- which accounts for the value of 2-pointers and 3-pointers -- of 58.9.

In Game 1, Porzingis had 18 points in his typically efficient fashion: 7-for-13 from the floor and 4-for-8 from deep.

"We have to do a better job of getting (Porzingis) the ball in the right spots," Celtics star Jayson Tatum said. "We're going to do that on Saturday."

Porzingis' importance as Boston's third option behind Tatum and Jaylen Brown is clear.

Tatum is averaging 26.9 points for the season and 25.5 points in the playoffs. Brown is averaging 23.0 points for the season and 25.0 points for the playoffs.

Porzingis can punish smaller defenders in the post, and he can pump in 3-pointers in the pick-and-pop game.

But the Heat got rough with Porzingis in Game 2.

"They upped the physicality," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said of Miami. "They did a good job pushing his catches higher."

Added Tatum: "There's a lot of history between these two franchises. We knew it wouldn't be easy."

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4/27 Game 3 Preview: Celtics at Heat

The visiting Miami Heat will attempt to pull even in their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Boston Celtics when the teams play Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Jayson Tatum collected 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the top-seeded Celtics to a 114-94 victory in Game 1 on Sunday. Tatum was one of six Boston players who scored in double figures.

"Just making the right play," Tatum said after Sunday's game. "We talk all the time about not getting bored with making the right play. ... We've played (the Heat) enough. They're not a team that's necessarily going to let you play one-on-one all night."

Miami's success Wednesday may be determined by how well it can defend the 3-point line. Boston made 22 of its 49 attempts from beyond the arc in Game 1. Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White and Sam Hauser each made four 3-pointers. Hauser came off the bench and did his damage in 12 minutes of playing time.

"You're going to need things like that to be successful in the playoffs," Tatum said. "It's not always going to be the guys who start the game. On any given night we're going to count on somebody off the bench to change the pace of the game."

The Celtics outscored the Heat 31-14 in the third quarter and led 91-59 entering the fourth. Boston's lead swelled to 34 points before eighth-seeded Miami got as close as 14 in the final minutes.

"You have to give (the Celtics) credit," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "They won the big-muscle areas. Definitely won the 3-point line and the majority of the areas in between, including defensively. They were up and into us, getting us out of our normal flow, rhythm. So we have to do a much better job by Wednesday."

Bam Adebayo scored 24 points and Delon Wright added 17 for Miami, which was without Jimmy Butler for the second straight game because of a right knee injury he sustained during the play-in round. Terry Rozier also remained out with a neck injury.

Boston's Jrue Holiday was among those who did a good job defending Tyler Herro, who shot 4 of 13 from the field and was held to 11 points in 34 minutes. Herro and Butler each averaged a team-high 20.8 points per game during the regular season.

"They came out with the intention to put a lot of pressure on (Herro)," Spoelstra said. "Whether it's on the ball with pick and rolls or off the ball with movement, we have to find some ways to shake him free and get him to his strength spaces within the context of what we do."

Sunday's win improved Boston's record against Miami to 4-0 this season. The Celtics have won 38 of 42 home games during the season and playoffs.

"There's some things that we have to do better, but that's the balance, right?" Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. "Understanding that we played relatively well, but we have to be better because we know they're going to play better."

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4/24 Game 2 Preview: Heat at Celtics

The eighth-seeded Miami Heat will be in a familiar position when they go on the road to open their Eastern Conference first-round series against the top-seeded Boston Celtics on Sunday afternoon.

Miami also was the No. 8 seed last season, when it battled its way to NBA Finals. The Heat's path included a seven-game series victory over Boston in the conference finals before they lost to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals.

Miami will be facing a Boston team that led the NBA with 64 victories during the regular season.

"Ultimately, we've just got to bring that Miami Heat culture and that toughness," Miami rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. said. "We've got two games in Boston. We've got to set the tone extremely early, impose our will on them and make it real physical."

Miami rebounded from a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday with a 112-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls in a play-in tournament elimination game Friday night. Tyler Herro collected 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in the win. Jaquez added 21 points, Kevin Love scored 16 and Bam Adebayo finished with 13.

The Heat will not have Jimmy Butler, who is expected to miss several weeks with an MCL injury he sustained Wednesday night. Butler averaged 20.8 points per game during the regular season.

Miami also will be without Terry Rozier for the series opener. Rozier has been idle since April 7 due to a neck injury.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to be in the playoffs," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I'm grateful for this locker room to have this opportunity. And I think they're appreciative of it, as well."

The Celtics went 3-0 against the Heat during the regular season. Boston won 119-111 at home on Oct. 27, prevailed 143-110 at Miami on Jan. 25 and earned a 110-106 victory in Miami on Feb. 11.

"At the end of the day, you can't have an expectation that (a series) is going to go a certain way," Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. "It takes what it takes. The other team is trying to win a championship too, so you have to have respect for your opponent. You have to have a mental toughness to withstand things. There are a lot of things that go on within a series."

Miami won the first three games of its playoff series against Boston last season. After the Celtics won the next three games to even the series, the Heat won Game 7 on the road. Boston is 37-4 at home this season.

"This year feels different, the way we've been playing at home," Boston's Al Horford said. "We have an understanding that we have to come out and play and perform. I feel like last year at times we kind of leaned on, 'We're at home. Our fans are gonna put us over the top.' Probably the mindset wasn't the best that it needed to be.

"I feel like now we understand that we have to come out ready to go, and just because we're here at (TD Garden) we're just not going to win automatically. We've done a better job of that this season."

This is the seventh time the Heat and Celtics have met in the playoffs. Miami won four of the six previous matchups.

"It's gonna be a dogfight," Adebayo said. "It's gonna be a battle. It's gonna be in the mud. It's not gonna be pretty basketball."

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4/21 Game 1 Preview: Heat at Celtics

Taylor Snow

Today, the Boston Celtics will celebrate a legend.

After 43 remarkable years in the broadcast booth, Mike Gorman is set to call his final regular-season game for the NBA’s most storied franchise when they host the Washington Wizards at TD Garden.

The entire afternoon will be filled with tributes for the Hall-of-Fame commentator both in the arena and on the NBC Sports Boston broadcast.

An extended in-arena halftime session will include a video montage of Gorman’s career along with speeches from Celtics ownership, an exclusive interview with Gorman led by his broadcast partner Brian Scalabrine, and other surprises.

Gorman’s last regular-season call is also being honored league-wide. The NBA shared a video on social media Sunday morning that included several esteemed broadcasters paying their respects such as Mike Breen, Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan, and Reggie Miller.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla also had some kind words to share pregame after growing close to Gorman over the last few years.

“Just in the back of the plane my first couple of years, I would always walk back there, we would have certain conversations, just listening to his insight, listening to his wisdom,” Mazzulla said. “I think just his humility, his ability to just connect with different people and then just being a voice of the team. He has a distinct voice that whether it’s on TV or in person, it sounds the same all the time. So I've been honored to get to know him and honored to be a part of his last few days here with the Celtics.”

After Sunday’s celebrations, Gorman will remain on the call through the first round of the playoffs until it's finally time to turn off the mic and give those legendary vocal cords a rest.

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Pregame Post-Ups: Celtics to Honor Gorman in Last Regular-Season Game

The Washington Wizards will attempt to end their season on a high note and halt a five-game losing streak Sunday when they visit the Boston Celtics on the final day of the NBA's regular season.

The Wizards (15-66) were the first Eastern Conference team eliminated from playoff contention this season. Only Detroit (14-67) has a worse record in the NBA.

The team's coaching situation is one issue the Wizards will have to address following Sunday's game. Brian Keefe was promoted from top assistant to interim head coach in January. He replaced Wes Unseld Jr.

Keefe tiptoed around the question when he was asked Friday if he wanted to return as Washington's head coach next season.

"We have another game," Keefe said. "My sole focus has been on our group, on our team -- to keep us progressing. I haven't thought about that stuff yet because I've been engrossed with trying to help our team improve and help our team get better, which I think we have. So we have another game on Sunday and we're going to throw everything we have into our energy. ... We're excited for our challenge Sunday at Boston."

The Celtics (63-18), who will be the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, have been on cruise control since they locked up home-court advantage throughout the playoffs in early April. Boston won't know it's first-round playoff opponent until after the play-in tournament.

Boston rarely has played all of its starters in recent games. The Celtics rested the top six players in their rotation Friday, but still came away with a 131-98 home victory against Charlotte.

Point guard Payton Pritchard scored a career-high 31 points and had 11 assists in 31 minutes against the Hornets. Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said he's seen significant improvement in Pritchard's game this season.

"Just being a complete player from the standpoint of every game is going to be different," Mazzulla said. "He affects the game in many different ways. Having a consistent role for an entire season is really beneficial, which I think this is the first time he's had that where you know each and every night when he's playing, where's he's playing and kind of what the potential is.

"So I think a little bit of that and then every night it could be different. It could be shooting, it could be ball-handling, it could be defense, it could be rebounding. And then he really takes pride in game management -- end of quarters, start of quarters. Scanning the floor. It's been really good to watch him play."

The Celtics, who are averaging 120.4 points per game, have a 36-4 home record this season. One of those home wins was a 133-129 victory against the Wizards on Feb. 9. The Celtics also beat the Wizards twice on the road, 126-107 on Oct. 30 and 130-104 on March 17.

The Wizards went with a young lineup for Friday's 129-127 home loss to Chicago. Patrick Baldwin Jr. scored 18 points and had 12 rebounds in the loss, and rookie Tristan Vukcevic added a career-high 19 points.

"We've played a lot of close games, fourth-quarter games, but (it's) taking advantage of their opportunity," Keefe said when asked about the team's younger players. "I think that's the thing that I've been really pleased about with them, is that when their opportunity has (come) throughout the year, they've seized the moment."

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4/14 Game Preview: Wizards at Celtics

Marc D'Amico

In a first-ever scenario Friday night, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame held a press conference at TD Garden ahead of a Celtics game in order to make a first-ever announcement. The Basketball Hall of Fame announced that it will soon be launching a new yearly exhibit titled “The Vault,” which in its first year of existence will feature an exclusive gallery detailing the history of the Boston Celtics.

John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame, was on hand to make the announcement. He stated that the purpose behind the new exhibit is to bring a new element to the Hall of Fame each and every year.

“One thing we learned was, it’s almost like running an amusement park, right?” he commented. “So you need a new rollercoaster or some thrill ride every year, so that you can keep people coming back and keep them interested.”

For the first year of its existence, that thrill ride will revolve around the history of the most storied franchise in the history of the sport.

Doleva and Celtics Team President Rich Gotham stated that there will be items in the gallery that highlight the entire existence of the Celtics, but noted that there will be a strong emphasis on current times. In fact, Jayson Tatum and Paul Pierce are the voices of the gallery.

Some of the items from the gallery were on display during the press conference, including:

Some other items that will be on display, among many others, are highlighted below:

Gotham said that what he appreciates most about the gallery is that it “creates a thread, starting with Red (Auerbach) and (Bill) Russell, all the way through to [Jayson Tatum] and [Jaylen Brown] today.”

He added, “I just think that’s a really cool thing to see for the franchise, to sort of see how the baton has been passed through the generations, and how the success has been passed down. And I just think it’s a great way to kind of capture that.”

The items which will tell the team’s story were collected from a combination of the team, players, and top-of-the-market collectors around the world. One of those collectors has a collection that is so exclusive and valuable that they have an armed guard defending the storage site 24 hours a day. That small detail is a perfect indication of just how exclusive this Hall-of-Fame display really is.

That premise also correlates perfectly to the name of the new exhibit. The Hall of Fame is calling it “The Vault” to showcase the exclusivity behind the items within the gallery.

The first edition of The Vault, highlighting the Celtics, will open May 31st at the Basketball Hall of Fame, which is located 70 miles west of Boston in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts.

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Pregame Post-Ups: HOF Announces New Exhibit That Will Highlight Celtics History

The Boston Celtics will attempt to avoid their third straight loss when they face the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.

Boston (62-18) took a 104-91 road loss against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, then fell 118-109 to the visiting New York Knicks on Thursday. The Celtics have been resting their starters in the fourth quarter of games since they clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference on April 3.

The Celtics trailed the Knicks 69-48 at halftime, and New York went on to end Boston's 13-game home winning streak.

"I did not like the effort level in the first half, but it's just a tough spot to be in," Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. "I thought our guys have handled (having nothing to play for) as best as they could.

"We ran into, in our last two games, two teams that were highly, highly desperate. As much as we want to be able to simulate that, that's just not the position that we're in.

"But I actually don't mind the result of the last two games because I think that's important. Going (into the playoffs) with a bunch of wins and feeling good about yourself isn't any better than having a little bit of a bloody lip."

The Friday matchup will be the third game between the Celtics and Hornets this season, with both of the previous contests in Charlotte. The Hornets won 121-118 in overtime on Nov. 20, and Boston prevailed 118-104 on April 1.

Boston has not lost three games in row this season. The Celtics also will be trying to avoid taking back-to-back home losses for the first time since January, when they lost to the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Hornets (20-60) have dropped six of their past eight games, but they are coming off a 115-114 road victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. Charlotte trailed by 18 points late in the third quarter and was down 92-77 entering the final 12 minutes.

Hornets rookie Brandon Miller scored a game-high 27 points in the win. Tre Mann added 16 points, seven steals and a career-high seven assists.

"Brandon was great under pressure," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. "We just kept going, possession by possession. We've actually been pretty good at that over the year. They did a good job, kept their poise, came back and made a bunch of plays late."

Miller sank 9 of 17 shots from the field, including 5 of 11 from 3-point range. He became the fifth rookie in NBA history to have at least seven games of 25 points and five 3-pointers, joining Stephen Curry (nine), Allen Iverson (eight), Trae Young (seven) and Cade Cunningham (seven).

"Being locked in on the defensive side -- I think that's why we won," Miller said. "It's definitely important to play as many games as you can and get better with your teammates. I feel like that's one of the things we're working on now. Getting better through all these games even though we're not in the playoffs or anything like that. Our mentality is to go out here and get better."

Charlotte will end its season with a road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. The Celtics will end the regular season at home versus the Washington Wizards on Sunday.

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4/12 Game Preview: Hornets at Celtics

Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks will continue their push for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference when they visit the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.

The Knicks moved into third place in the Eastern Conference with a 128-117 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday. New York (47-32) trailed Milwaukee by one game entering the Bucks' home game against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night. Boston (62-17) has already secured the top seed in the Eastern Conference and the best record in the NBA.

Jalen Brunson tossed in 45 points during the victory over Chicago. It was his second straight game with at least 40 points -- he scored 43 during a win at Milwaukee on Sunday -- and the 10th time he has scored at least 40 points in a game this season.

Brunson attended high school in Illinois, and his 45-point performance came in front of a large group of supporters.

"Outside of the city, where I went to high school, it's a special place," Brunson said of Lincolnshire, Ill. "I have a lot of people from there come to the game and support me. That means more to me than scoring 45."

Brunson's 10 40-point games in a season is good for third place in team history. Bernard King scored 40 points or more 13 times during the 1984-85 season, and Patrick Ewing had 11 games with at least 40 points in 1989-90.

Brunson is averaging 28.4 points, 6.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game. He's shooting 47.8 percent from the field.

"More importantly, they're not empty stats," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. "It's impacting winning in a great way. And so to be a leading scorer in the league, to do it with the amount of pressure that he's had on him in terms of double teaming -- we've had a lot of guys out, got a number of guys with minute restrictions and everything else, and this guy has delivered night after night."

The Celtics are coming off Tuesday's 104-91 loss to Milwaukee, which ended the team's five-game winning streak. Boston was held to 43 points in the first half and trailed by 20 points at halftime.

"For the most part, I thought we had too many empty possessions on the offensive end (in the first half)," Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. "Waiting too long to get into our spacing. Too many shots at the end of the shot clock. Just gotta get into it quicker.

"I think it's good for us to be in a bunch of different situations. This was the first time that a game wasn't going our way since -- I don't remember when. So to me, it was a good opportunity to just play through that (and) find different ways to create runs, find different ways to just build stuff on either end of the floor."

The Celtics became the first NBA team not to shoot a free throw during Tuesday's loss.

Boston has won 13 straight home games. After Thursday's matchup, the Celtics will wrap up the regular season with home games against Charlotte and Washington. New York will conclude the regular season with home games against Brooklyn and Chicago.