After a drawn-out series, the Miami Heat held off Boston’s comeback attempt, defeating the Celtics 103-84 in game seven. The Heat advance to the NBA finals as the second-ever eight seed. The first was the 1999 New York Knicks, which fell to the San Antonio Spurs in five games.
Miami, led by all-star Jimmy Butler and undrafted guard Caleb Martin, were able to dominate the Celtics on their home floor. Butler finished with 28 points while Martin put up a playoff-high 26.
The Celtics and Heat had different paths to the Eastern Conference finals. Boston came into the playoffs as the two seed, matching up with the seven seeded Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks gave the Celtics a run for their money, but Boston closed them out in six games.
Boston then took on the three seeded Philidelphia 76ers. After a good start, the Celtics had a couple of bad games and fell behind in the series 3-2. Despite going down, they stormed back to take two win-or-go-home games, booking their place in the Eastern conference finals.
Miami came into the play-in tournament as the eighth seed. They lost to the Atlanta Hawks, which meant they had to face the Chicago Bulls for the last spot in the playoffs. After trailing in the game, the Heat went on a ferocious run to close out the game, booking their spot against the one seeded Milwaukee Bucks.
The world picked the Bucks in five games, but the Heat had other plans. They flipped the script and dominated Milwaukee in all four wins. After that, they beat the New York Knicks in six games, leading them to a head-on collision for the third time in four years with the Boston Celtics.
Miami took game one of the ECF 123-116 behind 35 points from Butler, taking a big win on the road. In a closer game two, the Heat won 111-105 putting the Celtics in a deep hole. After a 128-102 game three win for the Heat, the Celtics were in big trouble. With their backs against the wall, Boston took game four 116-99 and game five 110-97, putting the pressure on Miami to close it out.
In Miami, on their home floor, after taking the lead with three seconds remaining, the Heat forgot to box out. Derrick White hit a put-back layup at the buzzer, giving the Celtics a 104-103 win, setting up a game seven in Boston.
With Miami looking to avoid history as the first team to blow a 3-0 series lead, the game seven lights shined brightly in the TD Garden. Despite being at home in one of the most iconic arenas in basketball, the lights burnt out on the Celtics. After star player Jayson Tatum rolled his ankle early, the Celtics couldn’t find their rhythm and they took a beating. They fell 104-83 on their home floor, sending Miami to the finals to face the one seeded Denver Nuggets.
History shines brightly on the Heat as they became the second eighth seed, and first ever play-in team, to ever make the finals. However, their job is not finished as they have the task of facing the best record in the NBA in the Denver Nuggets. Denver also had more time to rest as they’re coming off a sweep of the seven seeded Los Angeles Lakers.
Jimmy Butler is in the finals for the second time in three years, while two-time MVP Nikola Jokic is in both his, and the Nuggets, first. Both teams will battle as the Nuggets seek their first ring and the Heat look to expand their legacy tonight at 5:30 p.m.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JaydenBarfuss10