The Boston Celtics have joined the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals. On Sunday, the Celtics won the seventh and deciding game 100-96 over the Miami Heat at the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida to take the series four games to three.
The Celtics’s big three of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart came up huge in game seven. Tatum had a double double (26 points and 10 rebounds), while Brown and Smart had 24 points each. Grant Williams also reached double digits in points with 11, while Al Horford led the Celtics with 14 rebounds.
Boston had a 32-17 lead after quarter number one. The key shots were two three-point shots made from Horford and Derrick White.
It was not all easy sailing for the Celtics however. One would have thought Boston had a commanding 98-85 lead with three minutes and 35 seconds left. However, the Heat had a late run of their own that made things interesting at the end. In a span of two and a half minutes (from three minutes and 20 seconds left to 50 seconds left) the Heat went on an 11-0 run to pull within two at 98-96. During the run, Kyle Lowry made a 19-foot jumpshot, Max Strus had a dunk, and Victor Oladipo and Lowry had back-to-back layups.
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Then with 16 seconds left, Heat star Jimmy Butler went for the lead, but missed a three-point attempt. The shot selection was quite controversial because it seemed Butler had an open path to the basket for the tie, but went for the heroic shot attempt instead.
Miami forced game seven with a 111-103 win over Boston in game six. Butler was by far the best player for the Heat that night as he had 47 points. The NBA Finals start Thursday evening in the United States (Friday in Australia).
Tatum meanwhile won the very first Larry Bird Trophy as the best player in the Eastern Conference. He averaged 25 points in the seven games.
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