Boston @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 4, 2019 ) Miami 93, Boston 112

The Boston Celtics have had very different results on the defensive end through the first two legs of their three-game road trip. They'll try to find some consistency on that end of the floor and head home with a winning trip when they visit the Miami Heat on Tuesday.

After stifling the Orlando Magic in a 109-98 win Friday night, the Celtics gave up at least 29 points in all four quarters in Sunday's 123-108 setback at New Orleans in the hours after the news broke that Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter crash. "My stomach is still hurting," Boston forward Gordon Hayward told reporters. "It was hard to play today. Mentally, there were a lot of guys that weren't themselves with the news and I don't blame them. It's very, very tough." The Heat were idle when the Bryant news came in and marked an emotional return to the court Monday with a 113-92 rout of the Magic. Bam Adebayo notched his third triple-double of the season with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as Miami improved to 21-2 at home.

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: TNT, Sportsnet One

ABOUT THE CELTICS (30-15): Forward Jayson Tatum (illness, groin) has missed two straight games and he is listed as doubtful for Tuesday's game. Center Enes Kanter (hip) also sat out the Orlando and New Orleans games and will not be ready for the Miami matchup. Kanter (8.2 rebounds per game) and Tatum (6.9) are the team's top contributors on the glass and without them Boston was outrebounded 54-37 at New Orleans, giving up 18 offensive boards.

ABOUT THE HEAT (32-14): Adebayo was 10-of-16 from the floor and both Duncan Robinson (21 points) and Jimmy Butler (19 points) were 7-of-11 as Miami's starting five shot 58.8 percent from the floor against the Magic. Kendrick Nunn sat for the second straight time due to a sore Achilles, but fellow starting guard Goran Dragic returned from a calf injury that kept him out of the previous game and contributed 14 points and five assists off the bench. "We haven't really been able to get to that enough this season, and I'm not complaining about it," coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters of the team's inability to be fully healthy. "There's a lot of teams way worse off on that injury card than we are. We'll cross that bridge when we get there - it's a good bridge; it goes to good places."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Celtics PG Kemba Walker is averaging 36 points in two games since being held to eight in a win over Memphis on Wednesday.

2. Robinson is 15-of-24 from 3-point range over his last three games.

3. SG Jaylen Brown scored 31 points to lead Boston to a 112-93 win in the first meeting Dec. 4, stretching the Celtics' winning streak in the series to four.

PREDICTION: Heat 108, Celtics 106