On April 20, Beijing time, the NBA play-offs ushered in the final showdown. In the second round of the Eastern Conference play-offs, the Heat defeated the Bulls at home to enter the playoffs as the 8th in the East, and they will face their old rivals Celtics in the first round!
In this year's regular season, the Heat finished in 8th place in the East, with a 46-36 record. In the first round of the play-in tournament, the Heat lost 104-105 to the 76ers on the road before returning home today to beat the Bulls. The Heat made it out of the playoffs for the second year in a row, losing one game and winning one game to advance to the playoffs as the 8th place in the East.
With that, the final matchup in the East is here, the Celtics and the Heat will meet in the first round, and the Green Army has home-court advantage, and the specific schedule of this round series is as follows:
Game 1: Monday, April 22 – 1:00 – Celtic home
Game 2: Thursday, April 25 – 7:00 – Celtic home
Game 3: Sunday, April 28 – 6:00 – Heat home
Game 4: Tuesday, April 30 – TBD – Heat home
(if required)
Game 5: Thursday, May 2 – TBD – Celtics home
Game 6: Saturday, May 4 – TBD – Heat home stadium
Game 7: Monday, May 6 – TBD – Celtics home
To be clear, this is the fourth time in five years that the Celtics and Heat have met in the playoffs. In the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat defeated the Celtics 4-2, in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics beat the Heat 4-3, and in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat defeated the Celtics 4-3. In the regular season this season, the Celtics completed a three-game sweep against the Heat.
In last season's playoffs, the Heat also advanced to the playoffs as eighth and created the Black Eight Miracle to win the Eastern Conference. This season, the Celtics are 64-18 and have the league's first record, and this matchup will be another miracle for the Heat, or will the Celtics get revenge on the Heat?