The Celtics narrowed their potential first-round opponents to two on Wednesday night after the Conference play-in tournament The East begins.
The Miami Heat will host the Chicago Bulls on Friday night for a chance to earn the No. 8 seed and face Boston starting Sunday at TD Garden.
The No.8 seed Heat defeated the No. 7 seed 76ers on Wednesday night, taking a 14-point first-half lead in a 105-104 loss.Philadelphia will now face the No. 2 seed Knicks in the first round, starting Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
Jimmy Butler also suffered a knee injury in the loss and is expected to undergo an MRI on Thursday, leaving his health in doubt for Friday’s game at South Beach.
Miami will face the No.9 Bulls, who beat the Hawks 131-116 on Wednesday night at the United Center behind a career night for Coby White (42 points). The win ended Atlanta’s season in the playoffs 10-9
Boston had great success this season against the Heat and Bulls, going undefeated against both teams.Boston beat Chicago 3-0 with double-digit wins in all three games.
The Celtics also won 3-0 against the Heat, with a clear victory (33 points) and two close wins of 4 and 8 points respectively.
All eyes will be on Miami’s situation Friday night as injury question marks extend beyond Butler.Terry Rozier (neck) and Duncan Robinson (back) did not play against the 76ers on Wednesday night, although Robinson was on the roster.Bulls guard Alex Caruso also sprained his foot in Wednesday’s win, also putting his availability in doubt for Friday’s game at Miami.
Here is the full Celtics first round schedule with the winner of the Heat-Bulls game: Game 1: 1pm ET.
Sunday, April 21 at TD Garden in Boston on ESPN Game 2: 7 p.m.
Wednesday, April 24 at TD Garden in Boston on TNT Game 3: 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 27 at TBA on TNT Game 4 : TBD Monday April 29 at TBA on TNT Game 5*: to be determined Wednesday, May 1 at TD Garden in Boston to be determined Match 6*: to be determined Friday, May 3 at TBA on TBD Match 7*: TBD, Sunday May 5 at TD Garden in Boston on TNT
