Celtics vs. Heat Line Game 5 Eastern Conference Finals
Carrie Stroup here with your Celtics vs. Heat line for Game 5 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals. You can bet this game at Sportsbook where qualified customers can receive up to $250 in FREE CASH.
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: Miami -8 & 179
Opening Line & Total: Heat -8 & 179.5
The Celtics found a way to outlast the Heat 93-91 in overtime in Game 4, and now the Eastern Conference Finals are all tied up at two games apiece as the teams travel to South Beach for Tuesday’s Game 5.
The big news for Tuesday is that Miami PF Chris Bosh might actually play. He’s missed the past nine games with an abdominal strain, and is listed as day-to-day. Sunday’s Game 4 was not an offensive showcase as Miami shot just 42.5% FG, which was actually better than Boston’s 41.2% clip from the floor. The C’s blew an 18-point lead in the second half and were bailed out when LeBron James (29 points) fouled out for the first time in a Heat uniform. All five Boston starters scored in double figures, but the team scored a measly 32 points after halftime, a huge dropoff from its 61 first-half points. The C’s were once again led by PG Rajon Rondo (15 points, 15 assists) and PF Kevin Garnett (17 points, 14 boards). With the exception of Game 1 coming off a quick turnaround, the Celtics have had no trouble hanging with the Heat. They are 3-1 ATS in four trips to South Beach this season and Miami hasn’t been a team that has been able to recover from close defeats in the LeBron James era, going 6-19 ATS (24%) after a loss by six points or less.
Although Miami dominated points in the paint (48-38), many of the other Game 4 statistics were quite even. Boston had two more assists (22-20), one more block (7-6) and two fewer turnovers (15-17), while Miami had one more rebound (40-39) and three more free-throws made (17-14). The last time these teams played at AmericanAirlines Arena, the game was also extremely close with the Heat winning a 115-111 overtime thriller. Miami is 35-6 (23-17-1 ATS) at home this season, outscoring these opponents by an average of 100.4 to 88.9 PPG. Boston is a woeful 17-24 SU (20-21 ATS) on the road this season, which includes four straight road defeats by an average of 8.5 PPG.
Although Rondo has had a magnificent East Finals series (24.0 PPG, 10.5 APG, 7.0 RPG), he has to be tired after logging 46.8 minutes per game. But at least Rondo is still young at 26 years old, which is not the case for Garnett (36), SG Ray Allen (36) or SF Paul Pierce (34), who played 43, 46 and 39 minutes, respectively on Sunday night. Allen had his third straight double-figure scoring output with 16 points (4-of-11 threes) in Game 4, while Pierce was able to contribute 23 points (8-of-18 FG) and six rebounds before fouling out. Only two other Celtics outside The Big Four even scored a field goal on Sunday. Starting PF Brandon Bass notched 11 points and seven rebounds in his 33 minutes of action while reserve PG Keyon Dooling added 10 points in just 16 minutes.
The duo of James and Dwyane Wade continues to lead the Miami offense. James’ 29 points and six rebounds were helpful in Game 4, but his seven turnovers and six fouls proved costly. Wade scored 20 points, but hurt his team with his shooting, making just 7-of-22 shots, including missing the game-winning three-point attempt in the closing seconds of overtime. Wade had a stellar all-around game on Sunday though, with seven rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks. Speaking of stellar, PF Udonis Haslem was a beast in Game 4 with 12 points and a whopping 17 rebounds (four offensive). He could take a back seat to Bosh on Tuesday if the Heat All-Star PF is able to return. In the regular season, Bosh averaged a double-double against Boston (11.7 PPG, 10.3 RPG), but shot just 42.9% from the floor. Miami would also like to see more production out of two of its starters, as SF Shane Battier had just six points, and zero rebounds in 42 minutes of Game 4, and C Joel Anthony posted a game-low minus-11 rating in just 15 minutes of work.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
