What TV channel is Celtics-Heat Game 3 on tonight? Live stream, how to watch online, time
The Miami Heat bring a 2-0 Eastern Conference finals lead home with them when they face the Boston Celtics on Sunday, May 21. The game will be live streamed on Sling, which offers half off the first month, and on DirecTV Stream (free trial).
Jimmy Butler is Miami’s leader this postseason in points, minutes, assists and steals per game. He’s the sommelier at team dinners. He’s the barista when it’s time for coffee.
If all that wasn’t enough, he’s also the DJ.
When music blares in the Heat locker room, Butler is almost always in charge. Could be gospel, could be Whitney Houston, could be Nickelback and — as it was after Miami’s 111-105 win in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals — it could be Morgan Wallen, whose song “Somebody’s Problem” has become a Heat anthem.
Wallen’s song is not about basketball, though that’s completely irrelevant to the Heat. These days, Butler is Somebody’s Problem. In fact, he’s Everybody’s Problem. And the Boston Celtics are running out of time to find a solution.
Game 3 of the East finals is Sunday night, with the eighth-seeded Heat leading 2-0 after stunning almost everyone but themselves by going into Boston and winning the first two games of the series — putting themselves in position to reclaim a conference title that the Celtics defeated them for last season.
The Heat have won 10 out of 13 games to open the playoffs, after never winning 10 out of 13 during any stretch of the regular season. They toppled top-seeded Milwaukee in Round 1, ousted fifth-seeded New York in Round 2 and now have second-seeded Boston in serious trouble. And they’ve successfully rallied from more 12-point-or-more deficits in these playoffs — six, after doing it again on Friday night — than the rest of the NBA has combined (five) entering Saturday.
The Heat know this series isn’t over. They remember what Boston is capable of in Miami, and they know it’ll be a rallying cry for the Celtics as well.
When is Celtics-Heat Game 3?
The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat play Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals at 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. ET) on Sunday, May 21.
Streaming options
Sling
Sling is also one of the cheaper live streaming services. It offers three different channel packages for its users: Sling Orange, Sling Blue and Sling Orange + Blue.
All three packages are offering half off the first month.
Sling Blue and Sling Orange are both $40 per month ($20 for the first month), but offer different channel selections.
The main difference between the two packages is the line of ESPN channels offered with Sling Orange as opposed to channels such as Fox News, MSNBC, Discovery and Bravo offered with Sling Blue.
Meanwhile, Sling Orange + Blue is both packages combined for $55 a month ($27.50 the first month).
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream offers a free trial.
There are four options of DirecTV Stream. Price guaranteed for first two years.
The Entertainment Package, which consists of 65+ channels, is $64.99 until the promotion runs out April 30. It’s the basic package for can’t-miss entertainment – including ESPN, TNT, Nickelodeon and HGTV.
The Choice Package has more than 90 channels and is $84.99 during the promotion. The channels in ENTERTAINMENT, plus MLB Network, NBA TV, college sports networks, and more. Enjoy Regional Sports Networks with no additional fees.
The Ultimate Package has more than 130 channels and is $109.99 during the promotion. Everything in CHOICE, plus Oxygen, Golf Channel, NHL Network, Universal Kids and more.
The Premier Package has more than 140 channels and is $154.99 during the promotion. Everything in ULTIMATE, plus HBO Max, SHOWTIME, STARZ, Cinemax and more.
DirecTV Stream offers a free trial that doesn’t require much effort.
To sign up, enter a phone number, email address and credit card, and you’ll receive five days of the service without charge.
In addition, enhance your experience with the DirecTV Stream device. While it doesn’t include a free trial, it give you access to thousands of apps like Netflix and more on Google Play. You can search using the voice remote with Google Assistant, and you can enjoy a traditional live TV channel guide. It is sold separately.
What TV channel is game on?
The Heat and Celtics will be broadcast on TNT.
Preview
2-0 LEADS: This is the 18th time that Miami has taken a 2-0 series lead in Udonis Haslem’s 20 seasons with the team. The Heat have won all 17 of the previous series, 13 of them under Spoelstra.
Boston has lost 15 of its last 16 series after falling behind 2-0. The exception came in the first round against Chicago in 2017, another matchup where the Celtics dropped Games 1 and 2 at home.
SHOOTING WOES: Celtics starters Jaylen Brown (17 for 44, .386) and Al Horford (4 for 13, .308) are off to dismal shooting starts in this series. Brown is 2 for 13 on 3-pointers, Horford 1 for 8.
Meanwhile, Celtics center Robert Williams is 11 for 11 through two games. It’s his second streak of 11 consecutive made field goals in these playoffs, and he’s shooting an absurd 49-for-59 in the postseason (.831).
STAT WATCH: No player had more rebounds or assists in the first two games of the series than Miami’s Bam Adebayo.
He had 25 rebounds (Tatum had the second-most with 20) and 14 assists (tying Boston’s Marcus Smart for the most).
But the real gem on the stat sheet from the first two games might be this: Butler has more steals (nine) than the Celtics combined (eight).
FANDUEL SAYS: While Miami is now a slight favorite to win the series, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Celtics are 3.5-point favorites in Game 3.
And the Celtics (+290) still have significantly better odds to win the NBA title, according to FanDuel, than Miami does (+440).
QUOTABLE: “I think a lot of it has to do with effort and details. You can play as hard as you can, but if you don’t execute, that’s important.” — Boston coach Joe Mazzulla on Saturday, asked if Miami is putting forth more effort than the Celtics.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.