Saving themselves from a historic humiliation, the Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics this Monday by a resounding 103-84 in the final duel of this fast-paced tie and will play the Finals of the NBA against the Denver Nuggets.
After losing the previous three games, Jimmy Butler’s team (28 points) gave quite a display of character at the TD Garden in Boston to close out the Eastern Conference final 4-3 on aggregate.
The Celtics were one step away from their second straight Finals and from being the first team in history to come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs.
Led by Butler and guard Caleb Martin (26 points), the great revelation of this series, Miami grew under pressure and bounced back in style from Thursday’s devastating home court loss with a last-second basket by Derrick White.
“We stayed united as a group and as a team. We said we had to win a tough game away and that’s what we did,” Butler said about how his team lived through the past 48 hours.
“But nobody is satisfied. We are not playing to win the conference final but to win everything.” warned the veteran escort after collecting the MVP trophy of this tie, which bears the name of the legend ‘Celtic’ Larry Bird.
The Heat, who controlled the game from start to finish, avoided the Boston miracle and followed in the footsteps of the 150 teams that had previously held a 3-0 lead.
Erik Spoelstra’s pupils will play their first Finals since their 2020 loss to the Lakers and will do so as the second franchise in history to reach this instance being the eighth seed.
“Sometimes you have to suffer for the things you really want”, Spoelstra stressed. “This group has shown strength when the inevitable disappointments and failures come, but it has had the perseverance to get back up.”
FUENTE: AFP
2023-05-30 19:19:38
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