Boston Celtics Win Game 7 in Miami, Clinch Eastern Conference Title

The Boston Celtics reached the NBA Finals after 12 years and several close runs that saw them losing the East Finals. Ime Udoka’s boys were victorious in Miami last night, winning Game 7, 100-96, and eliminating the Heat following a massive drama.

With 3:35 to go, the guests from Boston had a 13-point lead, 98-85, but they allowed the Heat to come down to only two points, 98-96, creating a wild ending of the game at the FTX Center. Though, Marcus Smart hit both of his free throws to close the game and propel his unit to the NBA Finals.

“Today was the biggest test,” Jaylen Brown said. “Not just of the year, but of our careers.”

The Celtics have been in the East Finals three times in the past five years and lost on each occasion. In the meantime, the management made some pretty poor moves, adding players who weren’t suitable (like Kyrie) and ruining what was supposed to be a core that had the chance to become a contender for the title. Still, a few years later, the Cs managed to “get over the hump” as they refereed the conference finals.

Tatum, Smart and Brown, the heart and soul of this generation, were the leading scorers in Game 7, each having an essential contribution. Tatum scored 26 points with 10 boards and six assists, while Marcus Smart and Brown scored two points fewer. Smart added nine boards and five assists, while Brown had six dimes and rebounds each.

Boston was constantly upfront, not allowing the hosts to have a single lead throughout 48 minutes. They would reach a 24-9 lead midway through the first period, and despite making a few pushes, the Heat was never close to flipping the result.

Miami’s defense was ripped apart because it couldn’t focus on just one problem. Each time they stopped Tatum or Brown, Smart stepped up. When he and Tatum couldn’t play, Brown was there, and so on. Meanwhile, on the other end, Jimmy Butler was superb with 35 points, but he only had Bam Adebayo. The Heat center scored 25 points with 11 boards and four assists, and the next best thing was Lowry, who collected 15 points with seven boards but again had a disastrous shooting percentage, 4-for-12, and only one hit from downtown in six tries.

Tyler Herro tried to play, but he didn’t score any points in seven minutes. It seems that his absence was a major blow for the Heat in this series. Herro is the leader of the second unit and a guy who can cover several roles when being on the court.

Revenge.

Boston eliminates the teams that beat them in the past three seasons to advance to the 2022 NBA Finals ☘️ pic.twitter.com/ntrl3oEKaz

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 30, 2022

Miami was the top seed in the East. Spoelstra and the boys had solid prospects to go all the way this year. However, injuries sliced the Heat as the playoffs went by.

“It’s just one of those really tough moments,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “You can’t prepare for it. … It’s one of the worst feelings into the world to address your locker room after a game like this.”

This will be a busy summer for the Heat, who are going to have to make certain adjustments. We’ll see their moves.

The NBA Finals start on Thursday night at Chase Center in San Francisco, where the Celtics face the Golden State Warriors. According to the bookmakers, the Warriors are the favorites, -160, while the Cs sit at +210 to clinch the title, their first after 2008.