The Miami Heat made sure they were on the right side of history in Game 7 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.
Miami faced the prospect of becoming the first team in NBA history to lose a 3-0 lead in the best of seven series and lose the series. Instead, the eighth-seeded Heat are headed to the NBA Finals as the first team to come out of the play-in round.
After a stunning last-second loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 6 on Saturday night, the Heat rebounded to post a resounding 103-84 road victory at TD Garden in Boston. The Heat will play the Denver Nuggets in the best of seven championship series, which begins in Denver on Thursday night.
The home crowd in Boston was at a fever pitch before tip-off, but things took an ominous turn quickly when star player and St. Louisan Jayson Tatum went down with an ankle injury on the first play of the game. Tatum played 42 minutes, but was clearly compromised as he finished with 14 points on the evening.
To make matters worse, the Celtics were not hitting from 3-point range as they missed their first 12 shots from long distance. They finished the game shooting just 21 percent from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Heat were clicking on all cylinders as they shot 50 percent from 3-point range on 14 of 28 shooting.
Standout forward Jimmy Butler had 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists to lead the Heat. He received the Larry Bird Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the Eastern Conference finals. Guard Caleb Martin completed a tremendous series by scoring 26 points on 11 of 16 shooting from the field.
The Denver-Miami series gets underway with Game 1 on Thursday in Denver. Tip-off time is at 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ABC.