Adam Himmelsbach

Now Jimmy Butler is injured, and even if the Heat advance, their chances of beating the Celtics without him are very small.

The Celtics are hoping that when the playoffs begin Sunday, they'll start crafting plenty of memorable moments on their way to a championship.

The Celtics and Heat will meet in the playoffs for the third year in a row and the fourth time in five years when they open their first-round series at TD Garden on Sunday.

The Celtics led by as much as 34 early in the fourth quarter before a depleted Miami squad closed the gap, but it wasn’t enough to make Boston sweat.

The Celtics clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs nearly one month ago.

Scalabrine created a stir during the NBC Sports Boston postgame show as well as on his radio show Monday morning when he suggested Caleb Martin’s foul was the result of a directive from Heat coach Erick Erik Spoelstra.

Over most of the past decade, Marcus Smart embraced his role as the Celtics' primary enforcer. If opponents got out of line, Smart was usually the one to step forward and straighten them out.

When Heat superstar Jimmy Butler was ruled out of this Eastern Conference opening-round playoff series with a sprained knee, there was a perception

The Celtics were unable to answer the Heat's 23-for-43 shooting effort from behind the arc. With the teams tied at one win apiece, the series shifts to Miami for Game 3 on Saturday night.

The Celtics trailed the Heat by 9 with just under five minutes left in Game 2 of their opening-round playoff series Wednesday when they got a key stop and pushed the ball upcourt seeking one final burst.