Celtics-Heat Game 2 betting preview: Early money on the favorite, under

Find line reports, best bets, and subscribe to push notifications in the Betting News section.

The Miami Heat won another postseason game as underdogs Tuesday, moving to 4-0 both outright and against the spread when getting points in the playoffs. Will they make it 5-0 on Thursday, or will the Boston Celtics even up the series?

Here's all the betting info you need for Game 2.

Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics (-2.5, 208.5)

Early money came in on Boston and the under. The Celtics got a slight bump up from -2 to -2.5, while the total dipped a full point from 209.5 to 208.5. Game 1 cleared the closing total of 209.5, the first over between the two clubs in the last five meetings.

The market might be onto something by hitting the under early: The Celtics and Heat have played extremely slow throughout the playoffs, both averaging fewer than 100 possessions per game.

The case for the Heat

The Heat just won't go away. Even when they trailed by double digits in Game 1's fourth quarter, they never wavered. That's the kind of fight you want in an underdog, and Miami's been perfect in this role during the postseason.

The Heat are a great shooting team. In fact, they were No. 1 in the league in true shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage during the regular season. However, they owned the paint in Game 1, outscoring Boston 48-26.

That's pretty unconventional for an offense that's dead-last in the NBA in paint points per game, but Miami may have found an edge down low.

The case for the Celtics

I don't think Boston minus the points was a bad play Tuesday despite the result. Head coach Brad Stevens nearly improved to 9-1 overall in playoff openers, had it not been for a late surge by the Heat, who won in overtime.

Don't be surprised if Boston bounces back. The franchise is usually a solid bet when it needs to rebound, evident by going 6-0-1 against the spread following an ATS loss.

Notable betting trends

• The Heat are 9-1 ATS the last 10 games overall
• The Heat are 7-1 ATS the last eight games after allowing more than 100 points
• The Heat are 10-2-1 ATS the last 13 Thursday games
• The Heat are 26-11 to the over the last 37 games after a win
• The Heat are 4-1 to the over the last five Conference Final games
• The Celtics are 22-7-1 ATS the last 30 games as playoff favorites
• The Celtics are 9-4 ATS the last 13 games against teams with winning records
• The Celtics are 7-1 to the under the last eight games on one day rest
• The Celtics are 5-2 to the under the last seven games as playoff favorites

(Odds source: theScore Bet)

Alex Kolodziej is a betting writer for theScore. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 12 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AJKolodziej.