Heat looking for redemption against Celtics ahead of Eastern Conference Finals
MIAMI - For the third time in four seasons, the Miami Heat are in the Eastern Conference Finals.
And for the second consecutive season, they are battling for conference supremacy against a familar foe; the Boston Celtics.
Both teams are experiencing their infamous Paul Rudd "Hey, Look At Us" meme, as the two squads are playing against each other once more.
But the road for both teams was no easy feat.
The No. 2 seed Boston Celtics outlasted the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, 4 games to 2.
And were later met with a Philadelphia 76ers team led by the NBA MVP Joel Embiid, before sending them packing after a Game 7 blowout victory.
Jayson Tatum scored 51 points in Game 7, the most points scored in a Game 7 in NBA history.
For the No. 8 seed Miami Heat, they have been ablaze since their Play-In game against the Chicago Bulls April 14.
The Heat were met with the NBA's best team in the first round of the playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks, who were looking to win their second NBA championship in three seasons.
The Heat surprised the basketball world, sending Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks packing, defeating them in 5 games.
After a masterful performance by Jimmy Butler in Game 4, Butler was the clear hot-hand for the Heat and took some of that "heat" into the second round with a matchup with the New York Knicks.
Despite injuring his ankle in the fourth quarter of Game 1 and missing Game 2, the Heat managed to defeat the Knicks 4 games to 2.
However, Butler has continued to lead the Heat in scoring (31.4 PPG) this postseason, while scoring 25 or more points in eight playoff games.
Now, the stage is set with a rematch from the 2022 Eastern Confernece Finals.
The Celtics are looking to get back to the NBA Finals and the Heat are looking for redemption for last season's heartbreaking Game 7 loss.
Since 2020, the Heat have split their Eastern Conference Finals series matchups 1-1.
The Heat defeated the Celtics in 2020 before advancing to play the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Celtics defeated the Heat in 2022 before their NBA Finals matchup with the Golden State Warriors.
In the regular season, the Heat split their four games with the Celtics 2-2, with each team stealing one win from the other on the road.
Tip-off for Game 1 is scheduled at 8:30 p.m. from TD Garden.