Heat Vs. Celtics Preview: Miami Looking To Continue Climb Toward Top Spot In East

The Miami Heat haven't won a regular season game in Boston in their last eight tries, but come into their matchup with the Celtics Sunday afternoon brimming with confidence.

Their work will be cut out for them, as the Celtics are in the middle of a seven-game home win streak at the friendly confines of TD Garden.

This is just the second meeting between the two teams, who will play each other twice more this season. Miami currently sits in second place of the Eastern Conference at 37-13, and will be looking to chip away at the 3.5 game deficit behind the first-place Chicago Bulls. As for the Celtics, they are holding on to a slim .5 game lead in the Atlantic Division over the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Celtics will need to play stellar defense if they want to win, as the Heat are 26-3 when they score 99 or more points. Boston hold the second-best mark of home defense in the league, as they have surrendered an average of just 85.5 points per game while playing at the Garden.

Boston guard Ray Allen is a game-time decision as he has missed the past five games with a sore right ankle.

Game time is 3:30 and the game will be shown nationally on ABC.