The Miami Heat will be hosting the Boston Celtics in Miami at the AmericanAirlines Arena tonight in Miami's home opener. It's the first of four meetings this season between the Eastern Conference rivals, and the first of two times they will meet in Miami. Miami visits the Charlotte Bobcats tomorrow night, while the Celtics travel to New Orleans to take on the Hornets.

The last time the two teams met, it was May 11, Game Five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Heat had won three of the first four to open the series before eliminating the Celtics, 97-87 in Miami. Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 34 points to go with 10 rebounds, LeBron James added 33 while Chris Bosh had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Ray Allen led Boston with 18 points.

NBA Playoffs 2011: Boston Celtics Vs Miami Heat Game 5 Highlights (1-4) (via NBAHiighlights)

Miami is coming off a road matchup against the Orlando Magic. The Heat opened up a 32 point lead after three quarters before putting their bench in to finish up the game, 105-94. LeBron James led the Heat with 37 points and 10 rebounds. Dwyane Wade added 26 points and Udonis Haslem grabbed 14 rebounds to pace Miami. Jason Terry led all Dallas scorers off the bench with 23.

NBA Miami Heat Vs Dallas Mavericks Game Recap 12/25/2011 Opening Night (via NBAHiighlights)

Boston opened against the New York Knicks on Christmas Day, losing 106-104 in a back and forth matchup. Rajon Rondo scored 31 points and dished out 13 assists to lead the Celtics. Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with 37 points.

NBA Boston Celtics Vs New York Knicks Game Recap 12/25/2011 Opening Night (via NBAHiighlights)

All-Time Series: 36-55

Game Time: 8:00 EST

Season Series: 0-0

Standings

Miami Heat: 1-0, tied for first in the Southeast Division and the Eastern Conference, tied for second in the NBA.

Boston Celtics: 0-1, tied for fourth in the Atlantic Division, tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference, tied for 17th in the NBA.

Probable Starters:

Miami Heat

PG - Mario Chalmers

SG - Dwyane Wade

SF - LeBron James

PF - Chris Bosh

C - Joel Anthony

Boston Celtics

PG - Rajon Rondo

SG - Ray Allen

SF - Sasha Pavlovic

PF - Kevin Garnett

C - Jermaine O'Neal

Common Thread:

Boston guard Keyon Dooling played in 74 games for Miami in 2004-05, scoring five points and grabbing two assists in 16 minutes per game.

Celtics center Jermaine O'Neal played in 97 games over two seasons for Miami, scoring 13 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes per game.

Team Milestones:.
With four more 3-pointers, Mario Chalmers will move past Keith Atkins into eighth place, with 276.

Nine more field goals for Udonis Haslem will move him into sixth place all-time past Eddie Jones with 2,142.

14 more assists for LeBron James will move him past Rony Seikaly into 18th all-time.

Team Leaders:

PPG:

LeBron James, 37.0

Dwyane Wade, 26.0

James Jones, Udonis Haslem, 9.0

RPG:

Udonis Haslem, 14.0

LeBron James10.0

Dwyane Wade 8.0

APG:

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, 6.0

Mario Chalmers 4.0

SPG:

Mario Chalmers, 4.0

LeBron James 2.0

Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Norris Cole 1.0

BPG:

LeBron James, 2.0

Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem, Joel Anthony 1.0

For more on tonight's action, visit the Boston Celtics blog at CelticsBlog