Basketball

New Orleans Pelicans (49-33, seventh in the Western Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (57-25, first in the Western Conference) Oklahoma City; Sunday, 9:30 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK : LINE Thunder -7.5; over/under is 214.

Miami Heat (46-36, eighth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Boston Celtics (64-18, first in the Eastern Conference) Boston; Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK : LINE Celtics -13.5; over/under is 208.

Indiana Pacers (47-35, sixth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (49-33, third in the Eastern Conference) Milwaukee; Sunday, 7 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK : LINE Pacers -1.5; over/under is 231.

Dallas Mavericks (50-32, fifth in the Western Conference) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (51-31, fourth in the Western Conference) Los Angeles; Sunday, 3:30 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK : LINE Mavericks -2; over/under is 223.

MIAMI (AP) — Tyler Herro scored 24 points and was an assist shy of a triple-double, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Preview capsules for the first round of the NBA playoffs, which start Saturday. ___ EASTERN CONFERENCE No. 1 BOSTON CELTICS (64-18) vs. No. 8 MIAMI HEAT (46-36) Season series: Celtics, 3-0. Story line: Here they go again, sort of.

There’s a 64-win team in Boston that ran away with the league’s best record. The defending champions in Denver, a group that won 57 games. A fearless young bunch in Oklahoma City, whose No. 1 seed was no fluke.

MIAMI (AP) — The chants started raining down in the fourth quarter. “We want Boston,” the Miami Heat crowd kept shouting, over and over. The fans got their wish. And a rematch of the last two Eastern Conference finals awaits in Round 1 this year.

DENVER (AP) — Michael Porter Jr.'s coaches and teammates are rallying behind the Denver Nuggets starting forward who's had a trying week as the NBA's reigning champions head into their playoff opener against the Los Angeles Lakers.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers were fined $25,000 by the NBA on Friday for violating league injury reporting rules.