The Boston Celtics are back. After starting the Eastern Conference Finals with a three-game losing streak to the Miami Heat, they went on a three-game winning streak, giving them a chance to become the first team in NBA history to come back from an 0-3 series deficit. All it took was one miracle – after blowing a lead late in the fourth quarter, Derrick White made a three-pointer miss at the buzzer to score a 104-103 win and put himself on the brink of history.
Jason Tatum ignited the Celtics tonight, scoring 25 points in the first half and finishing with 31 total points. Jaylen Brown added 26 points of his own, but suffered a serious problem and wrist injury, and Marcus Smart went on to move up the Eastern Conference Finals with 21 points and 4 steals. For Miami, the players played the role admirably, including 59 points from their vaunted cadre of unmade role players – Gabe Vincent, Caleb Martin, Max Stross and Duncan Robinson. But the stars were short. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo had their worst games in the postseason, scoring 35 points on 9 of 37 shots from the field combined.
If you know nothing else, you will be able to discern the importance of this game based on playing the field in the first quarter. This may have been basketball’s highest stretch of the series to date, with both teams flying up and down the court and locking up defensively. The quarter progressed with remarkably few stops in play, maintaining an enjoyable rising pace as both teams executed at a high level. Through one, it was the Celtics who sat on top, leading 34-29.
The Browns themselves had a solid start to this game, shooting 5-of-6 from the field in the first quarter, but moments into the second, he fumbled a Kyle Lowry under the basket and appeared to favor his left wrist. Brown had treatment on his wrist prior to the game, but remained in the game after it appeared to aggravate the injury. He had trouble with Lowry lining up the free throws, which resulted in a minor scrimmage, but no fouls were called. He scored only one point in the second quarter – a free throw – after being injured.
The Heat’s three-point shooting rose to early series levels, but the Celtics found their way to the free throw line with more tenacity. They positioned themselves at the bonus with a whopping nine minutes remaining in the quarter, including 11 FTA’s from Tatum in the first half. Boston’s lead spilled into double figures, led by a subdued performance from Tatum, who cooked from midrange and set Miami defenders on fire from the dribble. Miami’s lead late in the quarter narrowed the lead, but the Celtics held a four-point lead going into halftime, 57-53.
Note: With just over three minutes left in the first half, Butler and Adebayo stumbled under the basket, and Adebayo appeared to land his full body weight on Butler’s knee. Butler was slow to get up after the play, but he stayed in the game and ended the first half for Miami. In addition, Robert Williams III left the game for the locker room near the end of the quarter, apparently injured on his left hand, but returned later in the third period and appeared to have no ill effects.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra ignited a coach’s challenge early in the third quarter, on a play in which the Browns fouled a jacket made in the paint. On an important call, the officials ruled that Brown had committed no foul, but — more importantly — had not committed one himself, avoiding what could have been a tricky fourth-down error early in the third. It was a relatively good break for the Celtics…which the Browns called off almost immediately, making the fourth foul two minutes later and leaving the game with just over nine minutes remaining in the quarter.
The margin of error became dangerously thin as the third quarter progressed. Reversing the Celtics in the second, the Heat put themselves in for the payoff with just over nine minutes left in the third. The lead, then, hung on one possession for most of the quarter, as the Heat managed to maintain close range despite his signature deep shooting start. Miami’s kitchen sink approach is starting to unravel with the ticking of the clock. The Celtics extended their lead to 13 points late in the third, and took a seven-point lead entering the final frame, 79-72.
Miami cut the deficit again during Tatum’s first quarter’s rest minutes, trailing by one possession before a Derrick White three-pointer pushed them back. However, their rise continued after Tatum’s comeback, going 11-3 allowing Miami to restore their one-point lead with nearly eight minutes to play. Adebayo’s goalie, foul, and technician allowed the Celtics to regain the lead, and on the ensuing possession, it was blocked on a dunking attempt by Horford. Two Brown free throws later, and the Celtics’ lead was five with just over seven minutes to play.
Two more touchdowns from Tatum—his first of the second half—moved the Celtics ahead by seven, before Duncan Robinson led with another Miami 3-pointer. The Celtics had the answers needed, with a three by White and a layup by Smart pushing them forward by 10 as the clock ticked under five minutes to play.
Trailing 100-91 with just over three minutes remaining, the Heat had one more lead left. Vincent converted the layup and Butler connected on a three, then Butler scored a 1-of-2 trip to the free throw line to cut Boston’s lead to three points with a minute and a half remaining. Butler’s missed free throw led to an offensive rebound for the Heat, but Robinson missed a wide open three-pointer with a chance to tie the game. Brown’s 1-of-2 drive put the Celtics up by four points, but Butler scored a three-point play to leave the two teams in a one-point game with only 53 seconds remaining. A pair of empty possessions followed, as Tatum was blocked by Adebayo on a punt attempt, and Robinson missed another three-pointer, before Smart missed and threw 1-of-2 free throws to put Boston ahead by 2 points.
Then came the amazing ending. With the shot clock off, Butler fouled Horford’s shooting to move to the goal line with a chance to send the game into overtime. Joe Mazzola challenged the play—a two-point jump—and upon review, it was determined that not only was a foul committed by Butler, but that he had been fouled with both feet behind the three-point line, giving him an extra free throw and a chance to shoot the next heat. He converted all three, and Mazzola took the final timeout with three seconds to play. On the out-of-bounds play, Smart missed a quick three-point attempt, but White countered the offensive rebound and cut back on a layup with fractions of a second to spare, securing the 104–103 win.
Next up: Game 7. The Celtics and Heat take on Boston with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line Monday at 8:30 p.m. EST on TNT.