The Boston Celtics are in the NBA Finals and will face the Golden State Warriors there. In game 7, the 17-time champion won 100:96 at the Miami Heat, but had to tremble until the last second despite a comfortable lead at times.
What a thriller! The Celtics led the entire season, but had to tremble in the end. An 11-0 run by the Heat over three minutes put the hosts in position to take the lead with 16 seconds left, but the dominating Jimmy Butler missed a hasty three at 96-98. Marcus Smart, who had made some questionable decisions in crunch time, hit the free throws on the other side to win.
The Celtics are in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010, while it was Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s first defeat in the Conference Finals. The Celtics’ top scorer was Jayson Tatum with 26 points (9/21 FG) and 10 rebounds, Jaylen Brown and Smart each had 24. Grant Williams contributed 11 points and 6 boards to the win.
Miami, on the other hand, was not enough for another gala by Butler (35, 13/24, 9 rebounds) because, apart from the superstar, only Bam Adebayo (25, 12/21, 11 rebounds) and Kyle Lowry (15, 4/12) scored in double digits. A ray of hope was Victor Oladipo (9, 4/12), who really worked defensively, but hit little in front (1/7 three).
Boston started like firefighters and surprised the hosts with a fast pace. Within minutes, the Celtics had 7 points in transition and a double-digit lead while Miami was still looking for rhythm. Boston initially had a better grip on Butlers Drives, but also left a lot behind at ringside. Nevertheless, the guests were already leading 32:17 after twelve minutes, also thanks to the help of the good bank around Grant Williams and White, who already had 12 points together.
Late heat run makes Celtics tremble again
Miami’s offense got a little better with Herro, but he was immediately attacked by Smart. Ultimately, however, the Heat were a one-man operation. In the first six minutes of the quarter, Butler scored 11 of the 13 heat points and single-handedly ensured the heats were early in the bonus. The lead melted only slowly because Boston hit better from outside. Miami ended the quarter much better thanks to more free throws (11:2 run), the Celtics were only 55:49 at the break.
The guests didn’t seem shocked, instead Smart hit a few throws from the flow of the offense. Tatum and Brown ripped holes and found the open teammates. At Miami, Adebayo was now more aggressive, but the Heat couldn’t get to the line. However, since Lowry finally scored his first two field goals and the Heat ended the quarter better again, the hosts were still only 75:82 behind before the final section.
Shortly thereafter, Butler could have equalized for the first time with a three, instead the Heat missed nine throws in a row. It was an 8-0 Celtics run for almost five minutes before Victor Oladipo scored. But Boston always had an answer, most notably through Tatum and Smart. And yet the Heat were back down to -5 with a minute to go. Brown conceded an offensive foul, Strus shortened from a distance. Boston missed again, but Butler too hastily took the three for the lead – and missed. Instead, Smart made everything clear from the line, further Strus triples did not find their destination.
The Heat’s season is over as Boston seeks its 18th title. Game 1 of the Finals takes place against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco at 3 a.m. German time (live on DAZN) held on Friday night. The complete schedule for the NBA Finals can be found here.
The most important statistics
Miami Heat (1) vs. Boston Celtics (2) 96:100 (BOXSCORE), Serie: 3-4
- Both teams started at a high pace, presumably knowing that both are struggling in the halffield. Boston scored 13 points in transition in the first quarter, which equaled a franchise record. Over the rest of the season, however, only 7 more points were added.
- The fact that Miami wasn’t beaten at half-time was entirely down to Butler. The forward marked 18 points (5/5 FG, 7/10 FT) and drew so many fouls that Miami was quickly in the bonus and benefited enormously from it. As a team, the Heat took 19 free throws, but also missed 7 of those. Otherwise, not much went for the Heat, who netted just 3/13 from the three-point line and had only 3 assists in the first half with 16 field goals. The quota of all Heat players without Adebayo and Butler (together 13/21 at break): 17.6 percent (3/17 FG).
- Miami remained cold from a distance for almost the entire season, only six out of 30 attempts went through the trap. However, a converted three does not appear in the statistics. Max Strus scored at the beginning of the third quarter, but was only taken back after a few minutes, very controversial. In the end, it was the three points that Miami were missing.
- Jimmy Butler played the full 48 minutes, the last time Kevin Durant did in the series against the Milwaukee Bucks last year. Since 2010, only three players besides Butler have gone full time: Dwight Howard (2x), LeBron James (2x) and Durant (3x). This was Butler’s sixth time (the other times for Chicago in the 2013 playoffs; Thibs says hello).
Heat vs. Celtics: The thoughts on the game
Erik Spoelstra (Head Coach Heat): “It breaks your heart. This streak has felt like five seasons. We have to salute the Boston Celtics.
…about Butler’s possible game winner: “I love Jimmy for that. It was the right decision.”
Jaylen Brown (Celtics) on Al Horford: “Nobody deserves it like him. I’m glad I could help him with that.
… about the Butler throw: “When he took the shot I was like, ‘What the hell?’ But he didn’t go in, we got the rebound and that was it for me.”
The star of the game: Jayson Tatum
It certainly wasn’t a perfect game for Tatum, who missed 12 of his 21 shots, including some seemingly easy layers, but the Celtics star still had two vital shots in the fourth quarter that provided relief. In addition, with only 2 turnovers and also with 6 assists. Got on to win the Larry Bird Trophy for Eastern Conference Finals MVP.
The flop of the game: PJ Tucker
Did he play? There was nothing at all from the ex-Bamberger in this game, so Tucker was almost exclusively on the bench for almost the entire second half. His proof of work in 17 minutes: 0 points (0/3 FG), 4 rebounds and 2 turnovers. Coach Spoelstra said afterwards that Tucker was injured. What the forward was missing, however, Spo did not want to discuss further.
The scene of the game
The Celtics won this game mainly thanks to their good start. This scene is an example, as Al Horford blocked Max Strus’ attempt to dunk and Smart immediately fast-broke. Another pass from Brown and Grant Williams had an easy pass. It was two of the Celtics’ 13 fast break points in the first twelve minutes.
Heat vs. Celtics: The series at a glance
| Spiel | Datum | time | Heim | away | result |
| 1 | May 18th | 2.30 a.m | Miami Heat | Boston Celtics | 118:107 |
| 2 | 20. May | 2.30 a.m | Miami Heat | Boston Celtics | 102:127 |
| 3 | 22. May | 2.30 a.m | Boston Celtics | Miami Heat | 103:109 |
| 4 | 24. May | 2.30 a.m | Boston Celtics | Miami Heat | 102:82 |
| 5 | 26. May | 2.30 a.m | Miami Heat | Boston Celtics | 80:93 |
| 6 | 28. May | 2.30 a.m | Boston Celtics | Miami Heat | 103:111 |
| 7 | 30. May | 2.30 a.m | Miami Heat | Boston Celtics | 96:100 |