2023-05-30 06:27:04
When everything seemed ready for a historic feat by the Boston Celtics, just one step away from coming back from 0-3 in a playoff series for the first time in 150 precedents, The Miami Heat spoiled the TD Garden party with a resounding 103-84 win that gave them a ticket to the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets.
The Heat, who started the ‘playoffs’ as eighth seeds, they won the Eastern Conference for the seventh time in their history and will fight in the Finals against the Nuggets for the fourth title in its history after silencing the TD Garden driven by 28 points from Jimmy Butler and 26 from Caleb Martin.
They knocked down some Celtics who had won the last three games after losing the first three duels. They were one win away from achieving an unprecedented feat in American basketballbut they fell short at home, in a game marked by the sprained ankle suffered in the first action by their star, Jayson Tatum.
Butler finished with 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals y Martin continued with an outstanding performance, with 26 points, ten rebounds and three assists, with four of six in triples.. Bam Adebayo added a double double of twelve points and ten rebounds to make the Heat the second franchise capable of reaching the Finals coming off the eighth seed.
The Celtics, who had a season marked by ups and downs, they were at the gates of a miracle, but Tatum’s injury significantly complicated his job. ‘JT’ didn’t give up and played the game, but he didn’t go beyond fourteen points and fourteen rebounds. Ankle pain prevented him from being the protagonist as he was in the seventh game won in the previous round against the Philadelphia 76ers, when he scored 51 points.
Jayeln Brown was the leading scorer with 19 points and Derrick White had 18, but the Celtics paid their lousy percentages in triples, just nine of 41 (21%). They also made a long series of management errors and lost fifteen balls.
Tatum, injury on the first play
The game could not start worse for the Celtics. Tatum, in the first action, sprained his ankle when he fell on top of a rival and despite continuing and making an effort in the fight for rebounds, he only partially participated in his team’s offensive game. He only took one field goal in the first period, missing it, and scored one point from the free throw line.
Brown took the initiative and he was the only Celtics to shake off the pressure with an early eight points. The team suffered tremendously from the arc and missed their first ten 3-point attempts. They made just 6 of their 23 field goals and scored fifteen points, the worst mark of their season in a quarter.
The Heat, with their usual group game, seven points from Martin and six from Butler, they finished the period with a resounding 18-6 that reached 23-6 at the opening of the second quarter, with a triple by Duncan Robinson and a basket by Highsmith. The Celtics touched zero of thirteen in twelve and Miami, with fourteen points from Martin, reached a maximum advantage of 17 points at 38-21.
It was Horford to break the drought from the perimeter for the Celtics, with Tatum still on the court, but visibly slowed down by ankle pain. With a huge effort, they managed to reduce the deficit to eleven points (52-41), but in the TD Garden the tension was maximum when Mazzulla’s men returned to the locker room.
Derrick White squeezes, Martin responds
With Tatum sore, the Celtics’ attack passed through White’s hands in the third period and the hero of Game 6 responded with thirteen points and some great plays that allowed his team to close the gap to seven points at 59-51. He scored from 3-pointer, forced fouls and hit 6-for-7 from the free throw line.
However, every time the Celtics tried to build confidence, Caleb Martin was in charge of frustrating them. He scored nine points in that quarter, on 4-for-4 shooting, and hit the 3-pointer that kept the Heat in a 10-point lead at the end of the quarter.
Martin scored consecutive points for the Heat and in the Celtics nervousness increased, with Tatum determined to stay on the trackbut with constant difficulties when it comes to carrying weight on the left leg.
It showed on the first play of the fourth quarter, when the Celtics’ star he missed a comfortable layup and the Heat took advantage of it to deliver the final blow to the game.
The Heat give the blow of “KO”
A 7-0 run, with a steal and mate by Butler, gave Miami back a 17-point lead at 83-66. Mazzulla called a timeout and the TD Garden was silenced.
The Celtics, no longer mentally strong, they began to force their shots in the attempt to come back, but they continued with very low percentages. They made decisions in a hurry and chained misses and lost balls that turned the last minutes into a walk for the Heat.
Brown fumbled his eighth ball of the night and Duncan Robinson made it 94-73 for the Garden. He put his hands to his ears to celebrate, in a gaping atmosphere.
With several fans already leaving the stands, Mazzulla carried Tatum, Brown and Smart off the track with just over two minutes left on the clock.
Despair took hold of the local bench. Legends like Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo, last champions with the Celtics in 2008, began to congratulate their rivals.
The Heat continued with their stars on the track and Bam Adebayo took the opportunity to close the duel with an ‘alley-oop’ for 103-82.
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