Whoever wins 4 times can go to the big NBA final, where Denver awaits. Never in 150 occasions has a team trailing 3-0 won a best-of-7 series. Boston is only the 4th team to force a 7th game after 3-0 down, but it is only the first to play the decisive Game 7 at home.
The visitors were in control throughout the game: 29-34, 53-57 and 72-79 at the end of the first three quarters. The Celtics led by 10 points in the final quarter.
But then Jimmy “Buckets” Butler unleashed his fiends, saving 13 of his 24 points for the final 5 minutes. The Heat still turned the tables, leading 103-102 on 3 free throws from Butler.
But the last action of the match at the Kaseya Center – 3 seconds from the end – was decisive: Marcus Smart missed his shot, Derrick White grabbed the rebound and threw in the winning basket. We had to wait for the VAR, but it determined the shot at 0.1 seconds from the end. So it counted.
At Boston, Jayson Tatum scored 31 points, assisted by Jaylen Brown (26), Smart (21) and White (11). On the other side, Butler (24), Caleb Martin (21) and Gabe Vincent (15) did it. Monday at the TD Garden it has to happen.
