The No. 1 seeded Boston Celtics (64-18) will square off the No. 8 seeded Miami Heat (46-36) in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Game 1 of the best-of-seven series is scheduled at noon Sunday in Boston.
The Miami Heat are back again in the postseason. The Heat lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first play-in tournament game on Wednesday and lost Jimmy Butler to a sprained right MCL, but earned the No. 8 seed by beating the undermanned Chicago Bulls on Friday night.
The Heat are no strangers to being the No. 8 seed. They were in the same position last term and became just the sixth No. 8 seed to dump out the No. 1 seed in the first round after dispatching the Milwaukee Bucks in just five games. They need a similar stellar display here to knock off the in-form Celtics.
Miami's run to the NBA Finals also included a triumph over the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat needed a vital Game 7 victory in Boston to clinch the conference title despite jumping out to a 3-0 series lead.
Boston boasts the best record in the NBA this year. The Celtics clinched a playoff berth by mid-March, the East's No. 1 seed by late March and homecourt advantage through the postseason in early April, building a 14-game lead over the entire conference, so they will fancy themselves to picking up a blowout revenge to that 4-3 series loss to Miami.
Here, GOAL brings you everything you need to know about how to watch the game, including what TV channel to watch it on, streaming details, and more.
Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat: Date and Tip-Off Time
The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat will face in a highly anticipated NBA game on Sunday, April 21, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
| Date | Sunday, April 21, 2024 |
| Kick-off Time | 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT |
| Arena | TD Garden |
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
How to watch Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat Online - TV Channels and Live Streams
Fans can catch the action between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat live on ABC.
If you don't have cable TV, the best way to watch every NBA playoff game online is with DirecTV Stream Choice. Best of all, DirecTV Stream packages all start with a five-day free trial. You’ll want the Choice package to get all the NBA playoff channels, which costs $98.99 for the first three months after the free trial, and then $108.99 a month after that.
Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat Team News & Key Performers
Boston Celtics Team News
The Celtics fell behind 3-0 to the (again) eighth-seeded Heat in the 2023 Eastern Conference finals last season.
After that, Celtics executive Brad Stevens made significant changes. He swapped Marcus Smart, the team's heartbeat, for Kristaps Porziņģis, a one-time All-Star center, and replaced Smart with Jrue Holiday, a two-time All-Star guard. Boston let Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to take command of a superbly crafted rotation, and a 64-win team lined up behind the All-NBA wings.
Tatum (26.9 PPG, 8.1 RPG), Brown (23 PPG, 1.2 SPG), Porziņģis (20.1 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.9 BPG), Holiday and Derrick White (15.2 PPG, 5.2 APG, 1.2 BPG and 39.6 3PT% (196-for-495) have formed the most balanced starting five in the NBA, pushing five-time All-Star turned sage veteran Al Horford to the bench alongside Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser for extended depth.
Miami Heat Team News
Heat star Jimmy Butler will miss this series after suffering an MCL injury in their play-in game loss to the 76ers this week. Butler is the heartbeat of this Heat side, as well as their best player, leader and most clutch performer, so his absence will be felt. SG Terry Rozier (neck) has also been ruled out for Friday's game against the Bulls.
All-Star center Bam Adebayo (19.3 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.1 SPG), sharpshooter Duncan Robinson (12.9 PPG, 39.5 3PT% 187-for-473), Tyler Herro (20.8 PPG, 39.6 3PT% 132-for-333) and rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11.9 PTS, 48.9 FG%) have been the most influential players for Miami this season and will need to click from the outset if the Heat are to pull off an upset here.
Head-to-Head Records
The Celtics swept their regular-season series with the Heat, 3-0. The Heat were without multiple rotation players in all three games, including Butler in the third.
| Date | Match | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| 12/02/24 | Miami Heat 106-110 Boston Celtics | NBA |
| 26/01/24 | Miami Heat 110-143 Boston Celtics | NBA |
| 28/10/23 | Boston Celtics 119-111 Miami Heat | NBA |
| 09/07/23 | Boston Celtics 88-99 Miami Heat | NBA Summer League |
| 30/05/23 | Boston Celtics 84-103 Miami Heat | NBA |