Celtics Looking For 10th Straight Home Win Against Visiting Heat
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat are battling for third place in the Eastern Conference but both remain closer to the No. 9 spot than No. 2, and the sense of urgency is apparent. The Celtics will try to notch their 10th consecutive home victory when they host the surging Heat on Saturday.
Boston is one game ahead of Miami in the East standings and is hoping to solidify its position during a stretch with seven of eight games at home. The Celtics began that run with a 112-107 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday behind 27 points and seven assists from All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas.
The Heat finally found an opponent they could not outwork on Wednesday, when they squandered a late lead and suffered a 118-112 loss to the NBA-best Golden State Warriors to snap a three-game winning streak. Miami is pulling together despite the unclear medical status of forward Chris Bosh, who remains out with a calf injury, but is reportedly on the verge of adding former All-Star guard Joe Johnson.
ABOUT THE HEAT (32-25): Bosh is reportedly meeting with specialists to determine if the recurrence of a blood clot issue that caused him to sit out the second half last season was happening in his calf, but Miami is not willing to make any statement.
"They are continuing to find ways and to explore options," team president Pat Riley told reporters of Bosh and his representatives. "That's probably the best way to deal with it. I'm not going to comment (further) right now."
Forward Luol Deng has elevated his level of play with Bosh out and posted a double-double in four straight games.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (34-25): Thomas is the biggest star on a team full of interchangeable parts and made the biggest play of the game on Thursday with a pass behind his head to Jae Crowder for a key 3-pointer down the stretch.
"I'm just trying to be unpredictable out there," Thomas told reporters. "Teams are really trying to slow me down and put different guys on me and keep me seeing two guys at once when I come off pick-and-rolls, so I'm just trying to give them something different each and every time down."
Thomas is forming a strong combination with Crowder, who is averaging 23.5 points in the last two games.
BUZZER BEATERS
- Celtics G Marcus Smart is 11-of-36 from the field in the last four games.
- Heat C Hassan Whiteside is averaging 21.7 points and 18 rebounds in the last three games.
- The road team has taken the last four in the series, with Boston earning a 105-95 win at Miami on Nov. 30 in the most recent meeting.
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