The Miami Heat advanced to the NBA Finals after defeating the Boston Celtics in Game 7. Derrick White converted a buzzer-beating putback to win Game 6 for the Celtics, ending a rollercoaster of drama and anxiety.
On Monday, the Miami Heat advanced to the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets after defeating the Boston Celtics 103-84 in Game 7.
The Heat’s road win prevented the Celtics from becoming the first NBA club to win a seven-game series after losing three games.
“That locker room has incredible competitors. Coach Erik Spoelstra says they relish the challenge. “They love being in the spotlight. Accepts criticism. Accepting everything.”
Celtics point guard Malcolm Brodgon said his team played tight and it influenced their outcomes on both sides of the field.
“The Heat played loose. “They executed on defense,” the league’s Sixth Man of the Year stated. They were poised offensively. They were calm. Eighth-seeded Miami had to win the play-In tournament, but its amazing playoff run has not been affected by its underdog position.
Jimmy Butler scored 28 points and Caleb Martin scored 26 and grabbed 10 rebounds against Boston on Monday. No Celtic scored 20 points, and Boston shot 39% from the field. 151 teams have tried to pull off the comeback of all comebacks, but none have succeeded.
Most 0-3 teams never made it this far.
The New York Knicks forced a Game 7 in the 1951 NBA Finals against the Rochester Royals, the Denver Nuggets nearly did so in the 1994 Western Conference semis against the Utah Jazz, and the Portland Trail Blazers almost did so in the 2003 Western Conference first round against the Dallas Mavericks.
On Thursday, the Heat will play the top-seeded Nuggets in Denver.
After sweeping the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals last Monday, the Nuggets have not played in a week. Spoelstra’s club defeated the No. 1-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round and the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semis.
Boston, the No. 2 seed, struggled in the playoffs despite its strong regular season. Celtics defeated the seventh-seeded Atlanta Hawks in six games and the Philadelphia 76ers in seven.
The Eastern Conference Finals featured the Heat and Celtics. The series has been a rollercoaster of drama and anxiety.
Butler and the Miami supporting group led the Heat to a 3-0 series lead.
Butler was one of the NBA postseason’s stars in the Celtics series’ early games.
Erik Spoelstra had to find other ways to assist his star after Tyler Herro was injured. Gabe Vincent and Martin—who have been clutch throughout the series—stepped up.
In the win-or-go-home games, Jayson Tatum led the Celtics to easy victories in Games 4 and 5. Boston returned to Miami for Game 6 after two blowouts. The Heat appeared to have regained their momentum and had enough to win the Eastern Conference with home crowd support.
With three seconds left, the Heat led by one, but Boston had the ball. Marcus Smart missed a game-winning three, and Derrick White converted a buzzer-beating putback to win the game for the Celtics.
It felt nice. “Everybody was asking me, ‘Did you get it off?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I think so,’ but it was so close, you never know,” White told reporters later. “We won. We got it done, and now it’s Game 7.
Celtics’ Game 7 climb was too steep again.
