If you were to tell me that the Boston Celtics would force a Game 7 after going down 3-0 in this year's Eastern Conference Final, I would not have believed you.
But now here we are.
When it looked like the Celtics would be eliminated with just a tenth of a second left in regulation, down 103-102, Derrick White owned the moment, cashing in on a putback layup after Marcus Smart's initial three-pointer rimmed out.
White and the Celtics celebrated as they knew it was good, even after the referees took a short time to review it.
Everyone was stunned. The Heat fans in the building were stunned. The entire NBA world was stunned.
Even I can't believe it! When it seemed that the Heat had the game won after three straight made free throws from Jimmy Butler, when it seemed Miami won it after he was fouled behind the arc by Al Horford, when it seemed they capped off a rally from down 10 points with four minutes remaining, the Celtics never quit.
White was the one originally inbounding the ball with three seconds left after the officials put back nine tenths of a second back on the clock. He passed to Smart, who missed a three, but White came in sprinting from the inbound spot to the rim, he got the offensive rebound, and laid it in just in the nick of time!
Countless times have we witnessed buzzer beaters. Such as Damian Lillard's iconic shots to eliminate the Houston Rockets in 2014 and the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019. LeBron James' two buzzer beaters in 2018 against the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors. Michael Jordan's "The Shot" in 1989. Dwyane Wade's "This is my house!" double overtime buzzer beater in 2009.
But White's buzzer beating layup joins Jordan's shot as the only two buzzer beaters in NBA history with their teams trailing and facing elimination.
That shot propelled the Celtics to a perfect 5-0 when facing elimination in this year's postseason, and 8-0 inside the Eastern Conference dating back to last year's Finals run.
They have now won five of their last six Eastern Conference Finals games in Miami dating back to Game 2 of last year's East Finals, including a Game 7 victory.
And now they are one win away from the first ever successful reverse sweep in NBA history.
The three other teams to force a Game 7 from down 0-3 in a series were the 1951 New York Knicks in that year's NBA Finals, the 1994 Denver Nuggets in the second round, and the 2003 Portland Trail Blazers in the first round.
All three of those teams lost their respective Game 7s on the road.
The Knicks and Rochester Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) were tied at 75 in the final minutes before the Royals pulled away for a 79-75 victory.
The Nuggets were the first 8th seeded team to win a playoff series. After going down 0-3 to the Karl Malone & John Stockton-led Utah Jazz, Dikembe Mutombo's Nuggets rode three straight wins to force Game 7 at Salt Lake City. However, Malone had 31 points and 14 boards in the deciding game for a 91-81 Jazz win.
The Trail Blazers, who at that time were led by Arvydas Sabonis and Scottie Pippen, after going down 0-3 to Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash's Dallas Mavericks, Zach Randolph rallied the Blazers back in the series along with a 125-103 blowout win in Game 6. But Nowitzki's 31 points and 11 rebounds in the deciding game sealed off any chance of a reverse sweep in a 107-95 Mavs win.
The Celtics, however, will play their Game 7 on their home court, the first such occurrence among these teams playing for a reverse sweep.
Five players finished with double-doubles: The Celtics' Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and the Heat's Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Caleb Martin.
Tatum had 31 points and 12 rebounds along with five assists, one steal, and two blocks, and was perfect from the free throw line, making all 15 attempts. Brown had 26 points and 10 boards with three assists and two steals. They both delivered exactly the performances the Celtics needed, along with a 21-point night from Marcus Smart, who led the team with four triples.
Butler played 47 minutes, where after scoring just nine points through three quarters, finished with 24, along with 11 rebounds and eight assists, though he scored as many points on free throws (12) as he did on non-free throw baskets, as he was an uncharacteristic 5 of 21 shooting, with two of those buckets on three-pointers. It was the first time in this postseason he shot below 25%.
Adebayo didn't fare any better either, finishing with 11 points on 4 of 16 shooting despite his 13 rebounds. Martin, however, had his third 20-point night of the playoffs and second double-double this postseason, finishing with 21 points and 15 rebounds.
Miami has now lost as many games this week as they did in their first 14 playoff games combined when they ousted the top seeded Milwaukee Bucks and the 5th seeded New York Knicks, and taking what was supposed to be a commanding 3-0 lead over the Celtics.
There were 150 teams before the Heat that took a 3-0 series lead. Those teams finished the deal. But this Celtics team has other plans.
The win-or-go-home match will be in Boston on May 29th, at 8:30 PM. I will have the call on Twitter Spaces that Monday night. Give me a follow @DatYinzerAlec for the play-by-play.
Injuries
Celtics: Malcolm Brogdon was ruled out an hour before the game as he continues to recover from a forearm injury.
Heat: Gabe Vincent said he intended to play through the sprained ankle he suffered in Game 4, which he did.
Game 7s
The Celtics are 27-9 in Game 7s, and have won their last four dating back to their 2020 second round victory over the Toronto Raptors in the bubble. That stretch also includes over the Milwaukee Bucks and Heat in last year's second round and Conference Finals, respectively, and the Philadelphia 76ers in this year's second round. This will be their third Game 7 all-time against the Heat, having lost the first one in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, though Boston is 22-5 at home in Game 7s.
Miami, however, is 6-5 all-time in Game 7s, losing their last two, the first at home against Boston last year and the second at Toronto in the 2016 second round. They have lost both their road Game 7s, the first being at Atlanta in 2009.
Spot the Celebrity
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel along with star cornerback Jalen Ramsey were in attendance, as well as Florida Panthers star winger Matthew Tkachuk, former heat guard Goran Dragić, and rapper Diddy.
Scoring by Quarter
1st Quarter: Celtics 34, Heat 29—Celtics lead 34-29
2nd Quarter: Celtics 23, Heat 24—Celtics lead 57-53
3rd Quarter: Celtics 22, Heat 19—Celtics lead 79-72
4th Quarter: Celtics 25, Heat 31—Celtics win 104-103
Box Score
Boston Celtics
Jayson Tatum: 31 points (8/22 FG; 0/8 3PT; 15/15 FT), 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 44 minutes
Jaylen Brown: 26 points (9/16 FG; 0/4 3PT; 8/10 FT), 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers, 4 fouls, 39 minutes
Marcus Smart: 21 points (7/15 FG; 4/11 3PT; 3/4 FT), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 turnovers, 4 fouls, 42 minutes
Derrick White: 11 points (4/10 FG; 3/7 3PT; 0/0 FT), 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 1 foul, 42 minutes
Robert Williams III: 10 points (4/5 FG; 0/0 3PT; 2/3 FT), 7 rebounds, 1 block, 3 fouls, 17 minutes
Al Horford: 4 points (2/6 FG; 0/2 3PT; 0/0 FT), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 5 fouls, 32 minutes
Grant Williams: 1 point (1/2 FT), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 fouls, 22 minutes
Sam Hauser: 0 points, 0 fouls, 2 minutes
Miami Heat
Jimmy Butler: 24 points (5/21 FG; 2/4 3PT; 12/14 FT), 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 47 minutes
Caleb Martin: 21 points (7/13 FG; 4/8 3PT; 3/4 FT), 15 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 5 fouls, 41 minutes
Gabe Vincent: 15 points (6/18 FG; 3/6 3PT; 0/0 FT), 4 rebounds, 1 block, 1 turnover, 5 fouls, 41 minutes
Duncan Robinson: 13 points (5/11 FG; 3/6 3PT; 0/0 FT), 1 rebound, 2 assists, 5 fouls, 20 minutes
Bam Adebayo: 11 points (4/16 FG; 0/0 3PT; 3/4 FT), 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 0 fouls, 46 minutes
Max Strus: 10 points (3/8 FG; 2/5 3PT; 2/3 FT), 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 fouls, 25 minutes
Kyle Lowry: 8 points (3/6 FG; 0/1 3PT; 2/2 FT), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 18 minutes
Cody Zeller: 1 point (1/2 FT), 1 foul, 2 minutes
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