Sunday, May 29, 2022. 11:13 PM
The Celtics took the lead from the first field goal in Game 7 and never lost it, en route to a 100-96 victory over the Miami Heat, eliminated in seven games.
Boston joins the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals as the Eastern champion team. This will be the Celtics’ first final since 2010.
“We have always believed in ourselves. We have focused on defensive play and we are seeing the results. It’s our identity, ”said Al Horford after the meeting.
The Celtics were able to take advantage of colossal work from Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart. Tatum finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, Brown contributed 24 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Smart added 24 points and nine rebounds.
Tatum was named the Eastern Finals MVP, as the honor is handed out for the first time in history.
“It’s a great honour, but I couldn’t be more proud of the team. Few people believed in us. We took the harder route and it worked,” Tatum agreed wisely.
In the Heat’s camp, Jimmy Butler once again delivered an inspired performance, but his efforts combined with those of Bam Adebayo weren’t enough. Butler had 35 points and nine rebounds, while Adebayo had 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Butler broke the 35-point mark on three occasions in the series against the Celtics.
The Celtics were serious early in the game as the team took complete control of the game quickly building a 24-9 lead. The Heat secured a late-quarter cue but were unable to come within seven points of Boston, who finished the first quarter on an eight-game point streak.
The second quarter was also to Boston’s advantage, until the Heat opened the machine in the final moments. A streak allowed Miami to turn a 16-point deficit into a gap of just six points halfway through the game.
Like Game 6, Butler had his say by scoring 24 points after two quarters. In the Celtics’ camp, Brown and Tatum led Boston with 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Then, Boston found its bearings in the third quarter and the Celtics built a 13-point lead at one point. Once again, the Heat refused to see Boston outrun them and the team had another strong end to the quarter. The brilliance of Butler and Bam Adebayo kept Miami seven points behind the Celtics with 12 minutes left.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Celtics saw an 11-point lead shrink to just two small points. Boston remained calm, however, and their lead held until the end of the game.
“I don’t know what happened, but we persevered. Sometimes we take the complicated route and I hate that side of our team, but we got the job done and we can turn to the Finals,” Brown tried to explain of Boston’s tough end to the game.
Boston therefore reached the 22nd final in its history. For its part, the Heat was trying to reach a second final in three years, after that of 2020.
The Celtics now have a perfect record of 22 wins and no losses in their history when leading by 15 points or more after a quarter in a playoff game.
A nod to Kobe
During the meeting, Tatum was seen wearing a purple rubber band with the image of Kobe Bryant on his arm and Tatum wanted to honor one of the great players of the NBA.
“It was game number 7. Everyone knows the success he had. He was my idol, my favorite player. I wanted to honor him in what is the biggest game of my career so far. It works! »
