The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics meet Thursday for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat lead 3-1. Tip-off from TD Garden is set for 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Heat vs. Celtics odds, and make our expert NBA picks and predictions.
Boston won 116-99 Tuesday as 1-point road underdogs. After losing 3-straight games, the Celtics rode F Jayson Tatum‘s 33-point night to keep their season alive. No team in NBA history has ever come back from being down 3-0 in a series and the Heat look to keep that streak intact.
The Heat are likely looking at this matchup as a must-win game because they don’t want to give the Celtics any momentum to get back into the series. With the Denver Nuggets already in the Finals, the Heat are looking to do the same as quickly as possible to get some much needed rest before the best-of-7 championship series.
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 10:27 p.m. ET.
Moneyline (ML): Heat +240 (bet $100 to win $240) | Celtics -300 (bet $300 to win $100) Against the spread (ATS): Heat +7.5 (-105) | Celtics -7.5 (-105) Over/Under (O/U): 215.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!
Heat at Celtics key injuriesHeat
PG Gabe Vincent (ankle) questionableCeltics
NoneFor most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.
Heat at Celtics picks and predictions PredictionHeat 110, Celtics 108
MoneylineBET HEAT (+240).
Vegas has them as heavy underdogs, but the Heat have proven in this series they can be dominant over the Celtics. It’s worth a chance to win 2.4 times your bet.
Against the spreadBET HEAT +7.5 (-105).
If you can’t see Miami winning outright, the Heat with the points is not badly priced. The Heat have been dominant ATS vs. the Celtics. The Heat are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings overall. They’re also 6-1 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. opponents with a winning percentage above .600.
Over/UnderBET OVER 215.5 (-110).
For Miami the Over is 10-1 in its last 11 road games and the Over is 4-0 in its last 4 road games vs. a team with a home winning percentage greater than .600.
For Boston the Over is 6-1 in its last 7 following a straight-up win and following an ATS win, as well as being 12-3 in its last 15 games playing on 1 day of rest.
The Over is also 5-0 in the last 5 meetings in Boston and 5-2 in the last 7 meetings overall.
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
Follow @payton_shanks on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Access more NBA coverage:
HoopsHype | Bulls Wire | Celtics Wire | Nets Wire | Rockets Wire | Sixers Wire | Thunder Wire | Warriors Wire | LeBron Wire | Rookie Wire | List Wire
Sign up for the USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning
