(AP) - Preview capsule for the NBA conference finals series:
No. 2 BOSTON CELTICS (57-25, 8-5) vs. No. 8 MIAMI HEAT (44-38, 8-3)
Season series: Tied, 2-2
How they got here: Celtics — beat No. 7 Atlanta 4-2; beat No. 3 Philadelphia 4-3. Heat — beat No. 1 Milwaukee 4-1; beat No. 5 New York 4-2.
Storyline: The Celtics and Heat meet in the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year and the third time in the last four. Boston edged the top-seeded Heat in Game 7 in Miami last season to secure its trip to the NBA Finals. This time, the Celtics have the home-court edge against a Heat team that is just the second No. 8 seed to reach the conference finals in the current format that began in 1984. The only other one, the New York Knicks, went all the way to the NBA Finals in 1999. Miami earned its most recent trip to the NBA Finals by beating Boston in 2020 at Walt Disney World.
Key matchup: Boston’s Jayson Tatum vs. Miami’s Jimmy Butler. The Celtics held on in Game 7 last year after Butler missed what would have been a go-ahead 3-pointer. He’s been playing in this postseason as if determined to get another chance. The forward’s scoring numbers dropped in the second round after he had 56 and 42 points in the final two games of Miami’s upset of Milwaukee, but he still leads all Eastern Conference players with 31.1 per game. Tatum, who set a Game 7 record with 51 against Philadelphia on Sunday, is averaging 28.2.
Injury watch: Butler played through a sprained right ankle the final four games against the Knicks after missing Game 2. The Heat may need to win this series to have a chance of getting Tyler Herro back from a broken right hand sustained in the postseason opener.
Numbers of note: The teams have met five times in the playoffs, with the Heat winning three. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra had been 5-0 in the conference finals until the Celtics’ victory last year. ... The Celtics are trying to become the first team to lose in the NBA Finals and then get back there the next season since Cleveland in 2017 and ’18. ... The teams haven’t met since Jan. 24, when the Heat held the Celtics to 13 points in the fourth quarter in Boston’s first loss on the road all season when leading after three.
Prediction: It’s hard to believe these Heat were a game away from not making the playoffs. They are far better than a normal No. 8 seed. But the Celtics are a better team. They clinch an NBA Finals trip on Miami’s home floor for the second straight season. Boston in 6.
No. 1 DENVER NUGGETS (53-29, 8-3) vs. No. 7 LOS ANGELES LAKERS (43-39, 8-4)
Season series: Split, 2-2
How they got here: Nuggets beat Minnesota 4-1 and beat Phoenix 4-2; the Lakers beat Minnesota in the play-in round, beat Memphis 4-2 and beat Golden State 4-2.
Storyline: The Lakers are seeking their 33rd trip to the NBA Finals, LeBron James is seeking his 11th and the Nuggets are seeking their first. Denver has been the team that everyone has chased in the Western Conference for most of the season; the Nuggets moved atop the conference standings in mid-December and stayed there the rest of the way. The Lakers started 2-10 and didn’t spend a single day over the .500 mark until March 31. But they’re 18-6 in their last 24 games, the NBA’s best record over that span.
Key matchup: Denver’s Nikola Jokic vs. the Lakers’ Anthony Davis. Jokic cannot be stopped. The two-time MVP is Mr. Everything for Denver, a triple-double machine who makes scoring, passing and rebounding look so easy. But Davis is one of the best defenders in the game and likely one of the few players in the NBA who truly can make life difficult for someone as strong and skilled as Jokic.
Injury watch: There isn’t much to report here. James and Davis have nagging issues that require them to be on the injury report, but unless something else happens, they’re always going to play.
Numbers of note: Denver is 40-7 at home this season, on pace for the NBA’s best home record since Golden State went 45-5 in 2016-17. … It’s a rematch of the 2020 West finals from the NBA’s bubble restart, won by the Lakers in five games on their way to a 17th championship. … Among those who played in that series, only two Lakers (James and Davis) and three Nuggets (Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.) remain with those clubs. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was a Laker then; he’s a Nugget now. … James averaged 25 points in three games vs. Denver this season, while Davis averaged 18.3 points and 11 rebounds. ... For the Nuggets, Jokic was one assist shy of averaging a triple-double (23.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 9.8 assists) against the Lakers this season, and Murray averaged 22.8 points. … The Lakers and Nuggets haven’t faced off since Jan. 9. … The only player to start for the Lakers in all four games against Denver this season was Patrick Beverley — who is no longer with them. LA used 18 different players against Denver this season; eight of them no longer play for the Lakers.
Prediction: Jokic is so good, and the Nuggets are so deep and have had a quiet swagger all season. But the only reason James still plays is to chase championships, and while he’s clearly far from washed up even at 38 and finishing his 20th season, he knows there aren’t too many more great title shots left. Expect a long, close series. Lakers in 7.
