The Boston Celtics, who beat the Miami Heat 100-96 in Game 7 on Sunday night, return to the NBA Final for the first time since 2010. Jason Tottenham took the lead with 26 points, while Jaylan Brown and Marcus Smart added 24 points apiece, starting with the Golden State Warriors team for the Celtics Championship, which began Thursday’s 1 game in San Francisco.
The Celtics guided wire-to-wire and responded each time the heat ran. Miami ran late and reduced the deficit to two points, but Boston were able to continue for the win. Jimmy Butler did most of the offensive work for Miami, finishing with 35 points while playing the entire game. But Butler alone could not do it for the No. 1 seat heat.
With Boston’s success, Ime Utoka became the first new head coach to win multiple Games 7 in NBA history; Earlier in the day, Boston defeated Bucks 109-81 in Game 7 of the Eastern Semifinals.
Here are three tips from Boston’s victory over Miami in Game 7.
1. Totem, and Brown and Smart, o
Live for Tatum and Brown Game 7s. You do not believe me? Here is a statistic that will captivate your mind. With Sunday night’s victory, Tottenham has now advanced to a 4-1 record in Game 7, while Brown is now a 5-1 record in Game 7s. Therefore, it is safe to say that they shine when the lights are very bright. Tonight was no different, as Brown and Tatum combined for 50 points. Throw in the Smart 24 points and it’s very easy to see why the Celtics won this game. From the start, the Celtics wanted to get out aggressively and despite the heat in the final minutes of the game to scare off Boston, the performance of Tottenham, Brown and Smart gave Chiku victory. .
This is the perfect performance you want from your key players in a win or home run, and the stars are out on the road to Boston. But, the scoring of the three players alone did not go well. Butler on Butler and Brown is about not biting his pump dummy and limiting everyone else’s contributions to the heat. Tottenham’s playmaking this season, the most advanced skill we’ve seen from him this season, led to 3 runs in Boston’s corners. You can see these key guys putting all the improvements they’ve been working on for years into the biggest game of their careers tonight, and it led to a spot in the NBA Finals.
2. Jimmy Vs. For everyone
Butler played the entire 48 minutes, and he was very active in his performance. I feel like Butler will go unnoticed playing the whole game, but I don’t think there are many players in this league who can do what he did tonight. What could be more insane than that, he made it look like Easy. Butler looked as spirited in the final minutes of the game as he did in the opening minutes, and he also suffered a knee injury in order to put Cherry on top of this crazy Sunday.
Butler performed well in his 7th game. He came to the free-throw line whenever he wanted because Boston struggled to control him in the second straight game. He was playing rebounds, loose balls and Jimmy Butler brand basketball all night without even a break.
Unfortunately, Butler’s performance was not good enough because he got minimal help from Pam Adebayo’s 25 points. Lori also scored 15 points, but felt like Butler was on the show tonight, which is why the Heat eventually lost the game. This is not entirely surprising as Miami gradually cooled during this series, and when Tyler Hero missed three games and tried to come back after playing only six minutes, you were already in an unfavorable position. Hero aside, Max Strauss’s shooting struggles continued, and he ended the night at 2 when he dropped a crucial 3-pointer at the tail end of the game to reduce Boston’s lead to two points. 7 of the 3-pointers.
3. Al Harford will finally get a title
Harford holds the record for most playoff games (141) played without reaching the NBA Finals. But that series was broken by Boston’s victory tonight and he will get his first shot at the senior forward championship. Harford has made the playoffs 13 times in his 15-year career, and has reached the conference final three times – once with Atlanta and twice with Boston – but has failed every time before. But not reaching that level after many years, Harford would take his first and best shot in a ring.
Although the Celtic teams will face all the favorite players to win, this is not the same Golden State team that existed a few years ago, which embarrassed the teams on a night-time basis. Although the Warriors beat Dallas Mavericks quickly in the West Finals, the Celtics will provide the Warriors with a very tough match in the final. Harford will play a key role in trying to make the Warriors’ lives harder on defense, and if he keeps tapping for 3 seconds on a high clip like post-season (45.6 percent) it will put Boston in a better position. I was trying to win a title for the first time since 2008.
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