BOSTON — The Miami Heat held off the Boston Celtics in a road Game Seven to seal a return to the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons, avoiding a historic collapse after going up 3-0 over the Celtics in the series.
Star forward Jimmy Butler punched in 28 points to lead Miami, while standout role players Caleb Martin and Gabe Vincent added clutch shot-making and solid play-making of their own.
Wes Goldberg of Locked On Heat joined the Locked On Sports Today podcast on Tuesday to discuss how Miami got the win.
“You knew that Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo were going to show up,” Goldberg said. “If it’s just one last game, you’re going to muster whatever it is emotionally.”
By winning in Boston, the Heat proved they can overcome even the most difficult losses like what they suffered at home in Game Six - and they have the talent to go toe-to-toe with Boston.
The Heat got a break when Celtics star Jayson Tatum rolled his ankle on the first play of the game, and Miami’s defense held Boston to 39 percent shooting from the field.
“They were totally in sync, they were on a string,” Goldberg explained. “That just set up the rest of their offense.”
Miami scored 21 points off turnovers in Game Seven.
After another seven-game battle that came down to a handful of plays last season, the Heat have come out on top despite a much harder road as an eight-seed this year. Yet they are back in the NBA Finals because of their depth, toughness and resiliency.
“Credit to the Heat where they were understood the assignment and they executed the assignment better than the Celtics did four out of seven games,” Goldberg said.