Heat gets a little rest before start of East finals
The top-seeded Miami Heat is heading to the Eastern Conference finals for the ninth time in franchise history.
The schedule for East finals is out, but the Heat’s opponent is still to be determined.
The Heat will face the second-seeded Boston Celtics or third-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the conference finals.
The Celtics defeated the Bucks 108-95 in Milwaukee on Friday night to force a Game 7 in their second-round series. Game 7 will be played in Boston on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. (ABC).
“You do want to acknowledge the steps along the way. This is not easy,” coach Erik Spoelstra said after leading the Heat to the East finals for the sixth time in the last 12 seasons.
“We’ve been doing this now for 27 years since
Pat [Riley] came down to South Florida . ... Every single year, we’ve had that goal to get to the Finals and compete for a title. It’s not easy in this league and I wanted everybody in the locker room just to acknowledge that.”
With the Heat not opening the East finals until Tuesday night in Miami, the team will take off Saturday after resting Friday before returning to the practice court at FTX Arena on Sunday.
“It’s a long journey, it’s a tough journey,” Spoelstra continued. “You have to commit to something that’s bigger than yourselves. And there’s a handful of guys that have never been to the conference finals. [Victor Oladipo] has never been and he’s played on a lot of good teams in this league. It’s hard to do and we’ll be able to reflect on that for an evening.”
SERIES SCHEDULE
Here is the schedule for the East finals as the Heat waits to learn its opponent. All games start at 8:30 p.m.
Game 1: Tuesday, FTX Arena., ESPN.
Game 2: Thursday, FTX Arena, ESPN.
Game 3: Saturday, May 21, at Milwaukee or Boston, ABC.
Game 4: Monday, May 23, at Milwaukee or Boston, ABC.
Game 5: Wednesday, May 25, FTX Arena, ESPN (if necessary).
Game 6: Friday, May 27, at Milwaukee or Boston, ESPN (if necessary).
Game 7: Sunday, May 29, FTX Arena, ESPN (if necessary).
TICKET INFO
Individual tickets for Heat home games in the East finals are on sale.
There is a four-ticket limit per household, per game. Tickets can be purchased online at Heat.com and Ticketmaster.com.
Tickets for all four potential home games in the East finals will be available for purchase, but home games 3 and 4 will be played only if necessary. Those who have purchased tickets for any unplayed games will be automatically issued a refund by Tick- etmaster, including fees (except UPS and retail pickup fees). Those who purchase tickets at a retail location can secure a refund by returning tickets for unplayed games at the same retail location where the tickets were purchased.