The second game of the NBA playoffs will take place on Wednesday night, with No. 1 vs. No. 8, the Boston Celtics vs. the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. the New Orleans Pelicans. Both odds are against the top seed by a large margin, but the Pelicans won a close game in Game 1. Would it be the NBA playoffs without a plot twist?
Still, our experts have picked solidly along the party (seed) lines for tonight's game. The Celtics are playing their best ball, and it's hard to see the Heat challenging that core without Jimmy Butler or Terry Rozier. On the other hand, the Thunder didn't have a great game in Game 1 against the Pelicans without Zion Williamson, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played brilliantly and they won 1-0.
Odds, previews and predictions for Celtics vs. Heat and Thunder vs. Pelicans are below.
All odds are from BetMGM. Find great ticket deals on StubHub.
1st place Boston Celtics vs. 8th place Miami Heat
How to watch: 7pm ET on TNT
Celtics lead the series 1-0
Series odds: Celtics odds not disclosed, Heat +4000
Ah, the three in Boston. The rain continued Sunday as the Celtics made 22 3-pointers, tying a franchise playoff record and becoming the first NBA team to have every player in the game make at least one deep shot.
Boston came out hot from the start, taking a 14-0 lead in the first three minutes, but never let up. They maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half and closed out the game with a 114-94 telegraph win. Jayson Tatum recorded his first career playoff triple-double with 23 points, 10 boards, and 10 assists. However, even that wasn't the most impressive part of the match. The Celtics have six players in double figures, and the way this Boston team moves the ball is beautiful.
Meanwhile, the Heat are short on work without their two top playmakers in Butler and Rozier. As a beat on Sunday, Miami seemed to be back on track. They held Boston scoreless for the final two minutes of the first quarter, and Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s bucket shot at the start of the second quarter brought the score within three points, the closest Boston would come before pulling away again. .
Bam Adebayo scored 24 points on 18 attempts. He scored 29 points with his entire bench, 17 of which went to Delon Wright, a bright light in a dark night for Miami.
It's hard to see this Celtics team lose one game in this series. The odds for a Boston sweep are -175.
Celtics vs. Heat expert picks
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1st place Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 8th place New Orleans Pelicans
How to watch: TNT 9:30pm ET
Thunder lead series 1-0
Series odds: Thunder -1200, Pelicans +750
What happened to the Thunder on Sunday? They entered the game as nine-point favorites, but nearly fumbled against a Zions-less Pelicans team. In other words, this match is athletic William Guillory: “An exhausting rock fight'' Both players struggled to make shots, and the score was tied at 43-43 at halftime.
The Thunder managed to pull away in the third quarter, but New Orleans came back and tied the game with 3:58 left in the fourth. Gilgeous-Alexander's decisive floater drew a foul and gave the Thunder a three-point lead with 32 seconds left. The Pelicans were unable to regain the lead and lost 94-92.
However, even though the Thunder played a bad game (by their standards), they still managed to win. The Thunder haven't scored fewer than 100 points since a 118-93 loss to the Bucks 13 games ago.
With Williamson still out, the Pels have done a great job of limiting the Thunder. But to break through this Thunder core, Brandon Ingram will need to step up. The Thunder's core is unlikely to play poorly again. Ingram averaged 20.8 points per game during the regular season, but on Sunday he scored just 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting. Gilgeous-Alexander had 28 points on 11-of-24 shooting, and Jaylen Williams contributed 19 points, four assists and seven rebounds.
Thunder vs. Pelicans expert pick
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(Photo by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Cooper Neal/Getty Images)
