They are on the way to achieving a feat. Boston, thanks to a rebound basket from Derrick White just before the buzzer, chained a third success in a row against Miami (104-103) to equalize with three wins everywhere in the Eastern Conference final, Saturday May 27, in the playoffs of the NBA. In 150 occasions, never has a team trailing 3-0 in the playoffs won a series in seven games. Driven by this momentum, the Celtics will be favorites to win the final meeting on Monday at TD Garden, in front of their home crowd.
It took almost nothing for Miami to succeed in a hold-up, after being led for almost the entire match, until Jimmy Butler (24 points), yet struggling throughout , scored three free throws to put his team in front of the score (103-102) three seconds from the end.
Incessant double-takes
On the last action, Marcus Smart (21 points) missed the winning shot, finally recovered from a victorious tap by White (11 points). Previously, Jayson Tatum (31 points, 11 rebounds) had been the main driving force for the Celtics, who led by 12 points in the third quarter and defended admirably, stifling Butler (5/21 on shots) in particular, by catches two incessant.
But the Heat never conceded anything in this meeting, like Caleb Martin (21 points) and Gabe Vincent (15 points), precious for his return from injury, he who missed the previous match due to a sprained ankle.
Deferred for three games, the Celtics are still there, but by ensuring that the Heat also have their feet on the brink, on a final action which risks leaving an imprint on the Floridians.