Final: Celtics 129, Heat 116 - White unconscious from 3, C's pull away in 4th

BOSTON CELTICS (15-11) vs MIAMI HEAT (15-12)

Regular season game 27

TD Garden, 7 p.m. - NBCS Boston

SCHEDULE ADVANTAGE: Boston. The Celtics have had three days off and Miami played in Brooklyn last night.

INJURIES

Boston: Jayson Tatum (OUT-Achilles) 

Miami: Tyler Herro (OUT-toe), Nikola Jovic (OUT-elbow), Pelle Larson (OUT, ankle), Andrew Wiggins (QUESTIONABLE OUT-back), Davion Mitchell (QUESTIONABLE OUT-ankle)

OFFICIALS

Zach Zarba (#15)    Jacyn Goble (#68)    Biniam Maru (#94)

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. Shooting: Both teams have had their shooting struggles recently. Miami just shot 9-28 last night in their win over the Nets (a win because the Nets shot 11-49). The Celtics have completely lost their shooting touch after the first quarter of their recent games. So this might simply come down to which team figures out their shooting first. 

2. Kel'el Ware: He put up 22 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks in last night’s game and Erik Spoelstra went with him over Bam Adebayo (who was in foul trouble anyway) down the stretch. Starting Ware and Adebayo will put the Celtics in an interesting spot, but with Herro out, the Celtics can stick Jordan Walsh on Adebayo and see if that tempts Miami into inefficient post-ups instead of their usual ball-movement. 

3. Turnover battle: Both teams generally protect the ball well and force a lot of turnovers. Whichever team wins that will get a chance to run. The Heat will push the pace every chance they get, so preventing those run-outs with ball-protection and made baskets will go a long way in slowing them down.

Follow along with my thoughts as the game goes on. They’ll show up below and in the comments section, so hop in and share your opinion as well.