Celtics vs. Heat Game 6 ATS Prediction

The Miami Heat take their second shot at clinching a spot in the NBA Finals when they battle the Boston Celtics for Game 6 of their Eastern Conference finals affair Sunday night. Miami was up three games to one, but Boston stayed alive with a victory in Game 5 Friday night. Can the Celtics stave off elimination again Sunday? Can the Heat put Boston down? And how are we playing this game with our free NBA playoffs pick?

Celtics -3.5/214.5 vs. Heat, 7:30 pm ET, ESPN

Miami leads this series three games to two, following Boston's 121-108 Game 5 victory Friday night. The Heat led that game 17-5 out of the gate, 26-18 after one quarter, and 58-51 at the half. But the Celtics exploded out of the locker room to win the third quarter 41-25 and cruised from there for the season-extending win and the cover as favorites of 3.5 points. Both teams shot 45 percent from the floor Friday night. However, Miami shot just 7/36 from 3-point land, Boston 12/38. The Celtics out-rebounded the Heat 60-48, won the turnover battle 13-11 and outscored Miami 17-6 on fast-break points. With Friday's win/cover, Boston is now 10-6, both SU and ATS, this playoff season. With Friday's loss, the Heat are now 11-3, both SU and ATS in these playoffs. Also, these two teams have now split eight meetings this season both SU and ATS. Friday's Game 5 played over a total of 213.5. So the overs are now 4-1 in this series, as the games have averaged 222 total points against an average over/under of 211. On the injury front, Miami F Bam Adebayo is nursing a sore wrist, and while he played Friday night, the Heat played -15 on the plus/minus scale while he was on the floor.