The Celtics Fought Off The Heat In Game 7 To Reach The NBA Finals

The Eastern Conference Finals has been an incredibly strange seven-game series in that most of the games weren’t competitive, and yet the Celtics and Heat both managed to pick up three wins to force a winner take all showdown in Miami on Sunday night.

Early on, it looked like we were headed for yet another blowout as the Celtics darted out to a big lead, thanks in large part to smothering defense sparking their offense in transition. Twice in the first quarter, Al Horford produced a turnover via a great closeout that led to a Jaylen Brown bucket on the other end as Miami struggled to meet the intensity of Boston early on.

Brown capped off a strong opening quarter with a step-through runner that helped push the Celtics out to a 15-point advantage going into the second quarter, as Miami looked discombobulated on both ends.

Boston would maintain that advantage for most of the second quarter, leading by 16 with just under five minutes to play before Jimmy Butler took over to pull the Heat back to within six, somehow, at the halftime break.

Butler finished the half with 24 points, as he and Bam Adebayo (11 first half points) were just about the only bright spots for Miami and kept the Heat within striking distance of Boston. The Celtics likewise got big first halves from their stars, as Brown had 15 and Jayson Tatum had 13 in the first 24 minutes, but the difference early was the contribution of the “others” as Marcus Smart and Derrick White combined for 17 to give the Celtics a needed lift from the backcourt. For Miami, their “others” had just 14 points on 3-of-17 shooting, and it was clear that for the Heat to close the gap completely in the second half that had to change.

After a good start, Miami suddenly found itself down 14 again midway through the quarter as Marcus Smart got it going for Boston, knocking down a pair of triples off Brown assists that (coupled with a Max Strus three that got wiped off the board for stepping out of bounds) further extended Boston’s advantage in role player production.

However, as quickly as Boston opened things up, the Heat closed it back down to a couple of possessions with a 7-0 run of their own, capped off by the welcome sight for the Miami faithful of a Victor Oladipo three.

Miami opened the fourth quarter on a quick 5-0 run to cut the deficit to just three points and suddenly it felt like the Heat might actually pull things even as the building was rocking after a Bam Adebayo lob finish.

Boston would reestablish order thanks to some tremendous shot-making by Tatum that pushed the lead back to double digits and, seemingly, it looked like they had taken the best punch of the Heat.

However, Miami would again make a run, pushing their way to within two after big buckets by Lowry and Max Strus.

After a Marcus Smart runner missed, the Heat had the ball with 20 seconds to play and a chance to tie or take the lead. Jimmy Butler decided to take a pullup three rather than attack the rim in transition or pull it out for one final play, and after a sensational 35-point game where he never sat, he couldn’t muster anything more than the front rim.

Two Smart free throws put Boston up 100-96 with 11 seconds to play, and Miami saw Strus miss a pair of desperation threes (with a foul on a rebound in between), with the clock eventually running out on Miami’s comeback bid.

It was a valiant effort from a clearly banged up Heat team, led by Butler’s 35 points and nine rebounds, with Bam Adebayo showing up when they needed him with 25 points and 11 boards. However, the Heat could not overcome a 6-for-30 night from three-point range despite their best efforts, as long droughts (including a four minute stretch in the fourth without a bucket) plagued them throughout the series.

For Boston, Brown (24 points, six rebounds, six assists) got things started and Tatum (26 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists) closed things out, with a big lift from Smart (24 points, nine rebounds, five assists) to push them over the line. They’ll now have three days to rest and get ready for the Golden State Warriors who have been sitting at home since Thursday, with Draymond Green’s proclamation they’d face Boston coming true (maybe two days later than anticipated).