The Boston Celtics are one step closer to history.
After falling behind 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat, Boston dealt Miami its first home loss of the playoffs on Tuesday night, winning 116-99 in Game 4.
The win forces the series back to Boston for Game 5, and the Celtics are favored in that game in the opening odds. The team has also seen its odds to win the series skyrocket, even though no team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 series deficit.
Can the Celtics channel the 2004 Boston Red Sox to come back and win the series? Here’s how oddsmakers view the Celtics-Heat series ahead of Game 5:
Celtics’ odds to win Eastern Conference Finals vs. Heat
Boston’s odds have shrunk significantly after winning Game 4. The Celtics entered that matchup at +700 to win the series, and the Heat were slight favorites in the game, the first time they were favored all series.
With the Celtics’ win, the underdog has won outright in every game in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Since Boston is an eight-point favorite in Game 5, oddsmakers are expecting this series to head back to Miami for Game 6 with the Celtics trailing 3-2.
At +225 odds to win the series, Boston has an implied probability of 30.77% of making history and erasing a 3-0 deficit. Prior to Game 4? The team had an implied probability of just 12.5 percent of beating Miami.
There’s still a long way to go for the Celtics, but they did have their best shooting night of the series in Game 4. If Jayson Tatum can keep carrying the offense and role players like Al Horford and Grant Williams step up, Boston can at least force a Game 6.
The team will need to exorcise some demons first, as the C’s are just 4-5 straight up at home this postseason.
—
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.