Noone said it would be easy. The Boston Celtics nearly choked away a 13 point lead with 3:35 left in the fourth quarter Sunday night, but would hold on for a 100-96 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals at FTX Arena in Miami, Florida. Boston wins the series 4-3, advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time in 12 years.
Boston got off to a solid start and didn’t trail in the game, busting out to a 9-1 lead on a Marcus Smart three-pointer 2:42 into the first quarter silencing the sellout crowd. They built the advantage to 15 twice, which is where it stood after one 32-17. The biggest lead was 17 early in the second, and despite more struggles from behind the three-point arc for the Heat they were able to fight their way back. The Celtics outscored them by 15 from long range, but Miami got to the line 22 times (14-22), compared to just eight times for Boston (5-8) to cut the deficit to just six 55-49 at halftime. Jimmy Butler did his thing again after a huge 47 point output in a Game 6 victory, going for 24 in the opening half on 8-11 shooting (7-10 free throws).
Miami sliced the margin to four on the first possession of the third quarter, the closest they had been since the early moments of the first. Boston responded with an 8-0 run finished off with a Smart three-pointer, and later another one from the arc by Smart would make it 72-58 with 6:46 left in the period. In a quarter of runs, the Heat then made theirs with a 7-0 spurt capped off with a three-pointer from Victor Oladipo to make it a seven point game. The lead for the C’s was that same margin headed to the fourth at 82-75. A lob pass to Bam Adebayo for a dunk from Gabe Vincent, and a basket from Butler would bring them even closer 82-79 in the early moments of the final quarter forcing a Celtics timeout. When it was winning time with the season on the line, it looked as though Boston had taken control scoring eight in a row after the timeout including a couple huge shots from Jayson Tatum and would push the lead back to 11 and had a 98-85 advantage with just 3:35 left. Miami though wasn’t going down without a fight of their own. The Heat scored 11 straight, including a three-pointer from Max Strus with 50.7 seconds left to pull within 98-96. After a Smart miss on the other end with 21 seconds remaining, Butler grabbed the rebound and went the length of the court firing up a long three-point attempt with 16 seconds left on the clock that would of given his team their first lead but it was no good and they had to foul. Smart made two from the line for a four point cushion. The hosts got two looks from the arc in the final 11 seconds by Strus, and after the second miss Al Horford grabbed the rebound and fired the ball up in the air to run the last few ticks off the clock and send Boston to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2010.
Tatum led the way in the win with 26 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, a steal, and two blocked shots. Smart and Jaylen Brown both finished with 24 points. Smart added nine rebounds, five assists, and two steals while Brown also contributed six rebounds and six assists. Grant Williams and Horford both got into double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively. Williams had six rebounds, and Horford who will be making his first NBA Finals appearance in his career (141 playoff games) had a double double by also grabbing 14 rebounds. Tatum also took home the Larry Bird Trophy as the Eastern Conference Finals named an MVP for the first time ever, after averaging 25 points per game in the series. Butler led all scorers in the loss for Miami with 35 points and nine rebounds. Adebayo had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Kyle Lowry rounded out the Heat double figure scorers with 15 points and seven rebounds. Their sixth man of the year Tyler Herro returned from a groin injury after missing the previous three games, but only played just under seven minutes all in the first half and didn’t score. Miami, who was the top seed in the Eastern Conference, ends their season with a final record of 64-36. Boston (63-37) will now meet the Golden State Warriors for a chance at taking home the Larry O’Brien Trophy as World Champions. The best of seven series will begin Thursday in San Francisco with tip time shortly after 9 p.m. The Warriors are making their sixth appearance in the NBA Finals in the past eight seasons, while the Celtics are there for the first time since 2010 where they lost in seven games to the Los Angeles Lakers. The green will seek banner 18 and first championship since 2008, with Golden State winning their last title in 2018. Tatum also becomes the first player under the age of 25 since LeBron James in 2007 to enter the Finals averaging 25 points per game, five rebounds, and five assists for the postseason. The schedule is listed below:
NBA FINALS
Boston (63-37) Eastern Conference Champions vs Golden State (64-33) Western Conference Champions:
GAME 1 Thursday, June 2 @Golden State 9 p.m.
GAME 2 Sunday, June 5 @Golden State 8 p.m.
GAME 3 Wednesday, June 8 @Boston 9 p.m.
GAME 4 Friday, June 10 @Boston 9 p.m.
*GAME 5 Monday, June 13 @Golden State 9 p.m.
*GAME 6 Thursday, June 16 @Boston 9 p.m.
*GAME 7 Sunday, June 19 @Golden State 8 p.m.
*- if necessary
