Editing Miami Heat (section)

===Boston Celtics===
{{main|Celtics–Heat rivalry}}
The two teams first squared off in the playoffs in [[2010 NBA playoffs|2010]], with the Celtics defeating the Heat four games to one en route to an eventual [[2010 NBA Finals|NBA Finals]] appearance by the Celtics. Having suffered first-round losses in three straight years, it was the loss to the Celtics that prompted [[Dwyane Wade]] to declare that the loss would be "my last" in the first round for the near future.

[[LeBron James]]' own enmity with the Boston Celtics can be found as far back as his first stint with the [[Cleveland Cavaliers]], where the Celtics upset the Cavaliers in 2008 and 2010. Among the two Heat stars, Wade went as far as to say that he personally hates the Celtics, with James' own disdain for Boston manifesting in how he referred to the Celtics exclusively as "that team" in 2011. With the acquisition of both James and [[Chris Bosh]] in 2010, the Heat challenged the Celtics for dominance in the Eastern Conference; James claimed that the formation of the Heat's Big 3 was to mirror the formation of the Celtics' Big 3 in [[Paul Pierce]], [[Ray Allen]] and [[Kevin Garnett]]. After dropping the first three games versus the Celtics in the regular season, Miami prevailed in their fourth encounter, taking the second seed from the Celtics and gaining home-court advantage for their eventual match-up of the postseason. The teams met in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the [[2011 NBA playoffs]], where [[Paul Pierce]] was ejected in Game 1, [[Dwyane Wade]] inadvertently broke [[Rajon Rondo]]'s arm in Game 3 and James scored the final 10 points in the deciding Game 5. James could be found roaring to the fans as the Celtics' end came, even kneeling to the ground in relief after finally defeating the Celtics. The rivalry would continue in the following season, where the Heat again took home-court advantage over the Celtics, though Boston again won the season series over the Heat. Despite the loss of Bosh to injury in the semifinals, the Heat took a 2–0 lead before the Celtics won the next three games; the first five games included two overtimes, Rondo's 44-point performance in Game 2, as well as Pierce and James fouling out in Game 4. James' 45-point performance in Game 6 at Boston forced a deciding seventh game, where the two teams traded blows deep into the third and fourth quarters, before Miami pulled away with a 4–3 victory en route to the [[2012 NBA Finals]].

In the off-season, the Celtics' Big 3 was broken up following [[Ray Allen]]'s joining of the Heat. When asked about their immediate reactions to their teammate leaving for their rival, [[Kevin Garnett]] claimed that he deleted Allen's phone number, while [[Paul Pierce]] admitted that it "hurt", though he still considers Allen "a brother to me" for their 2008 championship run. Although the two teams would not meet in the playoffs, the animosity continued in their four regular season games. The season opener – a Heat victory – included Rondo clotheslining Wade's neck, Garnett snubbing a handshake from Allen pre-game, and Garnett throwing an elbow at [[Mario Chalmers]]. During Miami's 2013 streak, [[Paul Pierce]] went on record to say that he wished for Miami to lose all of its remaining games by that point. When James voiced his displeasure over the Chicago Bulls' physicality against him, Boston's general manager [[Danny Ainge]] called it "embarrassing" for LeBron to complain about it. [[Pat Riley]], the Heat team president, retorted that "Danny should shut the fuck up." The teams met during the streak, where it was five years to the day that the Celtics' stopped the [[Houston Rockets]]' own 20+-game winning streak. It ended in a Heat victory, one that featured James dunking on [[Jason Terry]]; he received a technical foul for staring down at Terry post-dunk. When asked about it after the game by reporters, James stated that he was "glad it happened to him."

From 2020 to 2023, the Heat and the Celtics faced each other in the Eastern Conference finals for three out of four of the years. The Heat won the first and third meetings, with the Celtics winning the second.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Greer |first1=Jordan |title=Celtics vs. Heat rivalry: Boston, Miami add to NBA Playoff history with Eastern Conference finals matchup |url=https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/celtics-heat-rivalry-nba-playoff-history-boston-miami/nu0i0dyzng3ragccg4he1ukg |website=Sporting News |access-date=May 31, 2023 |date=May 17, 2023 |archive-date=May 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531130043/https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/celtics-heat-rivalry-nba-playoff-history-boston-miami/nu0i0dyzng3ragccg4he1ukg |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Friedell|first=Nick|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/37757464/heat-stomp-celtics-game-7-carry-dream-run-nba-finals|title=Heat stomp Celtics in G7, become second No. 8 seed to make Finals|publisher=[[ESPN]]|date=May 27, 2023|access-date=May 31, 2023|archive-date=May 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530220947/https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/37757464/heat-stomp-celtics-game-7-carry-dream-run-nba-finals|url-status=live}}</ref> The Heat and the Celtics would lose all the finals that played in from those years. In 2024, the Heat and Celtics faced off in the first round, but the Heat were playing without [[Jimmy Butler]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-27 |title=Jimmy Butler says he's 'working,' but there's no timetable for his return to the Heat |url=https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-2024-heat-jimmy-butler-d81ff04f61affb327ecc776aa4fe572b |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> and the Celtics won the championship that year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-17 |title=Boston Celtics defeat Dallas Mavericks to win 2024 NBA Finals - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/boston-celtics-beat-dallas-mavericks-2024-nba-finals/ |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>