2023-05-30 06:20:08
After dismissing Chicago in play-in, then Milwaukee and New York, Jimmy Butler and his teammates got the better of Boston. ADAM GLANZMAN / AFP
Pushed to Game 7 after leading 3-0 in the series, the Heat won on the Boston floor tonight (84-103) to clinch their place in the final.
Boston, first NBA team to win after being led 0-3? It’s no ! Miami woke up in time and won at TD Garden (84-103) last night in Game 7 of the series between the two teams in the Eastern Conference finals. Jimmy Butler (28 pts, MVP of the series), Caleb Martin (26 pts, 10 rbs) and company took the reins in the first quarter and never let go thereafter. Note the impact of Bam Adebayo (10 pts, 12 rbs), with a +/- at +22, despite big moments of hesitation.
What a mental state for Erik Spoelstra’s players, dismissed by these same Celtics in Game 7 last year, at the same stage of the competition… Beaten by Atlanta and winners of Chicago in play-in, they dismissed Milwaukee and New York at the previous rounds, in the play-offs, before offering the scalp of Boston, as Butler had promised last year. This is the seventh appearance in the final for the Florida franchise (3 titles), the first since 2020, in the bubble. So far, only the Knicks have made it to the finals after starting the playoffs with bib number 8. That was in 1999. The series began against the Denver Nuggets of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray – who are taking part in the Finals for the first time – on the night of Thursday to Friday (2h30). It will be in Colorado.
Tatum, the turning point
Second in the East in the regular season, the Celtics therefore failed in this quest for a historic first, while the first 150 teams led 0-3 in the play-offs had been beaten. That’s now 151. They were only the fourth in history to snatch a Game 7 under these conditions. The fate of the meeting may have changed in the first minutes, with the left ankle of Jayson Tatum which turned badly. He finished with 14 points (5/13) and 11 rebounds with gritted teeth. 19 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists for Jaylen Brown? Misleading statistics, knowing that he only returned 8 of his 23 shots (1/9 to 3 pts) and that he lost eight balls. 18 points for Derrick White, hero of match 6 with this victorious tap at the buzzer. Unhappy finalist last year, the Boston club will still be waiting for its 18th banner.
Slow start to the match on both sides, locked in fact, with very little skill on either side. After eight minutes of play, 19 small points… cumulatively (8-11)! Except that by starting the match at 0/12 at three points, with a handful of lost ball as a bonus, the C’s quickly took the tide (15-22 end 1st QT, then 15-27). Al Horford put an end to the green scarcity at long distance (18-27), but Gabe Vincent replied immediately and Martin drove the point home (18-33). Unplayable ! Luckily for Boston, Brown did the scoring job, while Tatum did… what he could (31-42). In this second part of the second quarter, the match was really launched, contacts everywhere, intensity… Welcome to the East! Big impact from Marcus Smart before the break, he who caused Adebayo’s third foul before hitting the mark from afar. Tatum brought his own to -8 (39-47), but Butler retorted (41-52 MT).
White/Martin, the unexpected duel
Pushed back to -16 after a 7-0 from the resumption (43-59), Boston was more than ever back to the wall. Hero of Game 6, White came out of his box (51-59). Still a three-point bombinette to calm the Garden and the Celtics (53-66), but Butler and Adebayo were in the tough. Quite the opposite of White, boiling hot (59-66). Almost four minutes without scoring for Miami. Butler put an end to the scarcity, but it was above all Martin who was hot, like this fade-away at the buzzer at the end of the third quarter (66-76). White/Martin, the duel!
Martin who planted another distant entry banderilla, Butler got started and Boston cracked (66-83). Miami defended the iron, Boston mixed failures with shots and lost balls (71-92). The Garden rumbled… And even more after seeing Robinson chamber the public (73-94). The Heat had a 23-point lead and Joe Mazzulla was starting to open his bench with a handful of minutes left. The Celtics coach was waving the white flag. The stands were already emptying. Hope gave way to despair on the C’s side. Miami returned to the final (83-104). Denver will leave in the costume of the favorite, but it’s not the kind of thing that will disturb Jimmy Butler and company. At all. Rather motivate them. They usually.
The 2023 NBA Finals schedule :
Match 1: Denver-Miami, on the night of June 1 to 2 (2h30)
Match 2: Denver-Miami, on the night of June 4 to 5 (2 hours)
Match 3: Miami-Denver, on the night of June 7 to 8 (2h30)
Match 4: Miami-Denver, on the night of June 9 to 10 (2h30)
If necessary
Match 5: Denver-Miami, on the night of June 12 to 13 (2h30)
Match 6: Miami-Denver, on the night of June 15 to 16 (2h30)
Match 7: Denver-Miami, on the night of June 18 to 19 (2 hours)
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