A look at the eight firstround series in the NBA playoffs:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

No. 1 MIAMI HEAT (66-16) vs. No. 8 MILWAUKEE

BUCKS (38-44)

Season series: Heat, 3-1. Milwaukee took Miami to overtime in the first meeting this season before losing 113-106, then won a wild game in December where the Bucks led by 12 at halftime, trailed by two entering the fourth, then outscored Miami 35-14 in the final 12 minutes for a 104-85 romp. After that, it was all Miami, with the Heat winning 107-94 on the road in March and then 94-83 at home last week.

Story line: The road toward what the Heat hope is a repeat championship finally gets underway, after a regular season that included a 27-game winning streak and the best record in the NBA. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade combined to average 48 points and both had their best-shooting seasons. The Bucks haven’t won a playoff series since 2001, and lost 12 of their final 16 games.

Prediction: Heat in 5.

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No. 2 NEW YORK KNICKS

(54-28) vs. No. 7 BOSTON

CELTICS (41-40)

Season series: Knicks, 3-1. New York won the season series for the first time since 2003-04, also the last time it won twice in Boston. Carmelo Anthony averaged 25.3 points but made his biggest news off the court, when he confronted Kevin Garnett outside Boston’s team bus after the two exchanged words during the Celtics’ 102-96 victory in New York on Jan. 7. The Knicks then won the last three meetings.

Story line: After ending the Celtics’ five-year reign as Atlantic Division champions with their first division title since 1994, the Knicks will try to win a playoff series for the first time since 2000. Boston has never lost in the first round with Garnett and Paul Pierce.

Key matchup I: Tyson Chandler vs. Garnett. Neither center, both former Defensive Players of the Year, appeared in the final two meetings, and Garnett’s absence was particularly noticed when the Knicks scored 100 or more in both games. Chandler missed most of the final weeks with a bulging disk but is set to play.

Key matchup II: J.R. Smith vs. Jason Terry. Terry averaged only 5.5 points and shot poorly against the Knicks during a somewhat disappointing season for the former Sixth Man award winner. Smith made himself a strong candidate for this season’s honor with his second-half play, including a 32- point performance in Boston on March 26.

Prediction: Knicks in 7.

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No. 3 INDIANA PACERS

(49-32) vs. No. 6 ATLANTA

HAWKS (44-38)

Season series: Tied, 2-2. Both teams went 2-0 at home. Here’s how even the season series was — the Pacers outscored the Hawks 400-395 in the four games, while the Hawks held tiny edges in rebounding (164- 163), points in the paint (160- 154) and fast-break points (51- 48).

Story line: Neither team is exactly hitting the postseason in high gear, with the Pacers having lost five of their final six games and the Hawks going 11-15 since the start of March — then looking downright awful for the final two games, losses that at least got them out of the Miami side of the East bracket. If there is a series that will wind up being a grind-itout, low-scoring one in the opening round of these playoffs, this one could be the most likely candidate.

Prediction: Pacers in 6.

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No. 4 BROOKLYN NETS

(49-33) vs. No. 5 CHICAGO

BULLS (45-37).

Season series: Bulls, 3-1. Chicago had an 11-point victory, while the other three games were decided by four points, two and one. The Bulls, never fully healthy, were without Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah and Kirk Hinrich in their lone loss, a 93-89 defeat in Brooklyn on Feb. 1.

Story line: Ending a successful first season in Brooklyn with the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2007, the Nets open against the resilient Bulls, who made it to the middle of the Eastern Conference playoff standings even while playing all season without Derrick Rose.

Prediction: Nets in 7.

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WESTERN CONFERENCE

No. 1 OKLAHOMA CITY

THUNDER (60-22) vs. No. 8 HOUSTON ROCKETS (45-37)

Season series: Thunder, 2-1. Oklahoma City won a pair of blowouts before the Rockets pulled out a 122-119 home victory on Feb. 20 behind 46 points from James Harden. The Thunder gave Harden a rude welcome back on Nov. 28 when they held him to 3-of-16 shooting in a 120-98 victory, and they followed that a month later by rolling to a 124-94 win.

Story line: After combining for a blockbuster trade in the preseason that dealt Harden to the Rockets, the teams meet in the first round as Oklahoma City tries to begin a second straight trip to the NBA Finals.

Prediction: Thunder in 5.

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No. 2 SAN ANTONIO

SPURS (58-24) vs. No. 7 LOS

ANGELES LAKERS (45-37).

Season series: Spurs, 2-1. Los Angeles prevented a sweep with a 91-86 victory on Sunday in its first game after losing Kobe Bryant to a season ending injury. The Spurs took the other two by a combined five points, pulling out an 84-82 victory in Los Angeles on Nov. 13 during the Lakers’ stormy start to the season and winning 108-105 at home on Jan. 9.

Story line: A top Western Conference rivalry in the last decade, this meeting comes without Bryant, who tore his Achilles’ tendon last week. The Lakers managed to make the postseason without him, winning their final five games to finish seventh and ending up opposite the Spurs, who battled injuries down the stretch and couldn’t hold off Oklahoma City for the No. 1 seed.

Prediction: Spurs in 6.

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No. 3 DENVER

NUGGETS (57-25) vs. No. 6

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (47-35)

Season series: Nuggets, 3-1. The teams met three times in November and Denver nearly won them all, taking a doubleovertime affair on the road in the first meeting, then winning at home and falling 106- 105 on the road — all those games coming in a threeweek span. They haven’t played since Jan. 13, a 116-105 home win for the Nuggets.

Story line: It’s just the second trip to the playoffs for the Warriors in 19 years, which means Mark Jackson’s team will have to guard against the just-happy-to-be-here pratfall that tends to affect clubs in that situation. Meanwhile, Denver was an in-vogue pick by many people to emerge from the loaded West before the season, and even without Danilo Gallinari the Nuggets have to think they can make a deep run, given their 23-game home win streak.

Prediction: Nuggets in 7.

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No. 4 LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (56-26) vs. No. 5 MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (56-26)

Season series: Clippers, 3-1. One of the Los Angeles wins was a blowout, a 99-73 road romp that came at the perfect time for the Clippers, since they were smarting from having just lost at home to Orlando and Memphis was mired in what became a six-game stretch where it couldn’t break the 85-point mark. The Clippers won both games in Memphis, the Grizzlies split two in L.A.

Story line: A pair of 56-win teams, both playing well and meeting a year after the Clippers went into Memphis and won a Game 7 to reach the second round of the playoffs — this has all the ingredients for a classic series. The Clippers are clearly the more high-octane of the two clubs, while the Grizzlies play with a defensive ruggedness probably not found anywhere else in the West.

Prediction: Grizzlies in 7.