Final: Heat 124, Celtics 103 - Celtics fall flat in return from road trip

BOSTON CELTICS (56-19) vs MIAMI HEAT (34-41)

TD Garden, 7:30 p.m. - NBCS Boston

Line: Celtics -10.5

INJURIES

BOSTON

OUT: Jrue Holiday (shoulder), Kristaps Porzingis (illness/reconditioning), Al Horford (toe)

MIAMI

OUT: Nikola Jovic (hand), Kevin Love (personal), Duncan Robinson (hip), Andrew Wiggins (hamstring), Dru Smith (Achilles)

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. Energy: Here we go ... first game back from a long road trip, and this was the longest road trip. This game has tripped them up before this season, so let's see how they handle it tonight. Maybe a few guys sitting will get enough stay-ready guys into the game that the energy won't be an issue.

2. Heat shooting: They are hitting 47% of their 3-pointers in this five-game winning streak, about 10% better than usual. The Celtics have the league’s third-best 3-point defense, allowing just 34.8% shooting from deep. Boston’s defense does a great job allowing 3-pointers from certain players, like Bam Adebayo, who is shooting 33% for the season but 8-15 (55.6%) over the last five. 

3. Breaking Miami down: The Heat have the league’s best defense over the last five games, leading to a net rating of 21.8 during their winning streak. Granted, their wins have come against Washington, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Golden State, and Charlotte, so they’ve gotten fat on some cupcakes lately. Boston will be shorthanded, but the timing is right for a nice dose of reality for the Heat. 

4. Luke Kornet: He’s mostly been quiet against Miami, grabbing only two offensive rebounds in three matchups, two of which were starts. He might get another chance to start in this game, which I’d love to see because I want to see if his increased aggressiveness gets him anywhere against Bam Adebayo. Bam is a tough matchup for most players, so this is a good measuring stick for Kornet in the midst of his best basketball of the season.

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.