The Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat to advance to a do-or-die Game 7 for both teams. The last minutes of this game were classic.
In a classic playoff game, the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat, 104-103, in Game Six.
This was the best match of the qualifiers given the late game moments. Yes, Boston missed threes and the total offense was horrible for Miami but the closing minutes were amazing.
The game began with Boston losing all of their threes (along with Marcus Smart and Derrick White). However, Miami couldn’t take advantage of that due to the fact that they couldn’t make a shot either. Jimmy Butler struggled hard until the fourth quarter.
The game basically stayed that way unlike late in the fourth quarter when Miami started to comeback.
Duncan Robinson missed three late games to take the lead. However, the Heat pulled ahead due to Jimmy Butler hitting three straight free throws with seconds left on the clock.
It looked as if the Heat were going to the NBA Finals until Derrick White grabbed a three-missed Marcus Smart to win the game for the Celtics on an offensive rebound that turned into a layup.
3 reasons why the Celtics won Game 6 over the Heat
Jason Tatum
Jason Tatum continued to shoot terribly from the three-point line, but he was still the best player on the floor for three-quarters of this game. He ended up attempting eight triples and not making any.
To move forward, Tatum has to stop taking three. Boston spacing is fine and he doesn’t need Tatum to throw shots.
Regardless, Tatum had 31 points. He was able to foul very well going to the line 15 times. It was perfect from the free throw line in a game where Boston needed every point.
Tatum was really good in this game from inside the arc. He ended up shooting 61 percent on the inside. Also, he ended up with 11 rebounds and five assists.
Jaylen Brown
It was a bit tempting to put Marcus Smart here due to the fact that he was the only other Celtic who could shoot three in this game, but Jaylen Brown was cooking up the Celtics’ offensive end.
The Browns’ defense was very good in this game as well, helping shut Butler out for three-quarters.
Once again it was a similar game for co-star Tatum. He was amazing from everywhere on the court except at the three-point line. He ended up with 26 points and 10 rebounds on 75 percent from the field.
Derek White
This game will go down in Boston Celtics history (that’s saying something) after Derrick White. Combined with his offensive rebound that turned into a game winner, he ended up continuing his hot three streak.
He cooled down a bit from Game 5 but this was still a very solid performance as he was able to provide space for the Celtics. He ended up with 11 points on 40 percent shooting from the floor with three three-pointers.
Boston probably won’t shoot like this in Game 7 of this series. Given the fact that the game is at home, the Celtics likely won’t throw the game farther than the three-point line.
With the Heat’s game looming, the Miami battle is likely to continue to struggle. Yes, Butler will be back on Earth but the rest of his crime is pretty disturbing. If the Heat want to win Game 7 and avoid history, Bam Adebayo will need to get on the road.