Miami beats Boston in Game 7 and goes to the NBA Finals against Denver

Jimmy Butler promised it after his loss to Boston in Game 7 a year ago. “We will come back here and next time we will win”. No sooner said than done. 12 months later another Game 7 against Boston, another Eastern Conference final, with reversed fields, and he drags Miami to triumph at the Garden. The Heat clear it 103-84 dominating from start to finish. Closing the series 4-3, turning the mockery of Game 6 into competitive rage. The 2023 Finals will therefore be between Denver and Miami. Thursday 1 June, in the Italian night, Race 1 will take place in Colorado. It will be Jokic versus Butler. Two champions out of the pack, eternal underestimated. One of the two will put the ring on his finger, the first, and thus earn a place in Olympus, among the gods of the world of baskets.

Masterpiece Miami

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Butler, sure. By force. Pack leader, elected best player of the series. But the feat of the Heat, just the second seed n. 8 of every era to reach the Finals (after the 1999 Knicks), the team with the worst attack in the regular season, forced into the second play-in to access the playoffs, is incredible. He eliminated the heavily favored Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo’s team, in the first round. Then that of the big market: the New York Knicks. Finally the Celtics despite having lost three times in a row, able to get back up and dominate away. Coach Spoelstra, in the seventh final, deserves a monument in South Beach, directly on the beach. The heroes never chosen in the Draft, Gabe Vincent and above all Caleb Martin, were from a fantasy novel. And then there’s Pat Riley, the great puppeteer. Working team, united, following the leader of the field and the one on the bench. The injured Herro and Oladipo were missing from the start of the series, and yet… zero excuses. Applause.

Boston collapse

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Sudden. Thunderous. It makes noise. For the second year the right train passed in front of the Celtics, unable to catch it. Sure they had put themselves in a deep hole. Damn deep. Down 0-3 in the series. And now the statistic becomes 151 out of 151: no one in the NBA has ever been able to make up for that deficit in a playoff series. But they had then been able to even the score, the fourth team ever to succeed, the first to have the match point at home. And instead it has become a torture in front of its audience, if anything. Tatum twisted his left ankle at the start of the game and was then a ghost, Brown became a turnover machine like in his worst days, Coach Mazzulla is Coach Mazzulla, a modest rookie quickly benched as a patch to fix messy Udoka. And Brogdon just couldn’t stand, seriously injured. The justifications are there, but losing by 20 points at home without ever being in the game… it will be a hard blow to digest and evaluate, looking ahead.

The match

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Boston starts 0-12 from 3 points. 22-15 Miami at the end of the first quarter, the Celtics hold on only thanks to offensive rebounds. Butler with 6 points, zone defense does the rest. Boston doesn’t care for the ball, a cardinal sin, Tatum grimaces every time he lands after the elevation, his ankle seems to affect him, he scores his first basket with 7′ to play in the second quarter. We see Brogdon again, who had missed Race 6 due to injury. But he’s not able to compete like this. It’s 52-41 Miami at halftime. 14 points for Martin, his maximum in the playoffs in his career after 24′. Miami shoots 8/16 from 3 points in the middle of the game. A “trena” from White, the only one who didn’t betray, halved the Celtics disadvantage from 16 to 8 points. But Lowry brings “expressed” points off the bench and Miami is ahead by double figures after 36′, 76-66. A 7-0 to open the last period ends the game. Become a triumphal runway for the Heat. Garden rumbles, shocked, disappointed and enraged. With 2′ to play, Mazzulla calls the starters back to the bench. Finished. The miracle has arrived. But it’s not Boston’s epochal comeback. If anything, it’s Miami at the Garden, where he wins for the third time in this series. To rub your eyes.

The word

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Butler, Mvp of the Conference final, is not satisfied, and relaunches: “We remained united as a group in the difficult moments, now we are happy, but not satisfied, we have four more to win. Spoelstra gives the film phrase: “We are the men in the arena, with dust, sweat and blood on our faces”. And a reserved seat on a flight home to Jokic.

Boston: Brown 19 (7/14, 1/9, 272 t.l.), White 18, Tatum 14. Rimbalzi: Tatum 11. Assist: Brown 5.

Miami: Butler 28 (9/21, 3/7, 1/2 tl), Martin 26, Adebayo 12. Rebounds: Martin/Adebayo 10. Assists: Adebayo 7. Riccardo Pratesi