A Derrick White’s death doublewith the backboard light flashing overhead as he fired the game-winning shot, he allowed Boston Celtics prevail as caller for 104-103 vs Miami Heat and accomplish what a few days ago seemed impossible: force the seventh game of the eastern final, after losing the first three games.
The Boston 9 appeared on the last play of an electrifying match correct a three-point attempt by Marcus Smart that circled the rim, not without suspense, and add the two drives necessary for his team to take the ticket to the NBA Finals out of the hands of the Heat, where the Denver Nuggets await, Champion of the Western Conference.
Like much of the action that took place in a frantic game of closure, the show featured a good deal of suspense. White was convinced he had converted before the bell and didn’t hesitate to make the gestures to clarify it. Meanwhile, the judges, who had just made a big decision on the previous play in which Jimmy Butler partially gave Miami the lead, ruled in center field of play.
Finally, the resolution was favorable for Boston, when the judges ruled that the ball left White’s hands, in his attempt against Max Strus, before the clock reached zero. The Celtics thus had one more opportunity to continue in the playoff race and to break a historic curse for teams that started a postseason playoffs by losing the first three games.
An electrifying closure
Boston led for most of the game, but with 7.55 remaining to finish the fourth quarter, Jimmy Butler appeared to correct a missed shot by Duncan Robinson and give Miami the lead, the likes of which hadn’t happened since the first quarter, with an 83 -82.
Boston reacted quickly and bounced back with wise interventions from Jaylen Brown. Thus, it went on 95-88, with 5 minutes left. Then the Celtics stretched the lead to 10 drives after clever play by Marcus Smart, who hit a double and added an extra point from the free throw line.
However, Miami was not willing to give up on an electrifying night With just under a minute left, another big move by Butler left the Heat just one point behind Boston, who then made it 102-100 on a Smart free-kick.
The breathtaking definition still had a couple of chapters to go. Jimmy Butler was about to make a 3-point attempt when he was intercepted by Horford. Tensions skyrocketed at the Kaseya Center when the referees called a foul and allowed the Heat forward to convert his three free kicks to put his team back in front.
With just 3 seconds left on the clock when Smart made what appeared to be his last attempt of the night. The ball did not enter, but there White appeared, opportunistically, to seal the win The agony of Boston.
The teams that have reached the seventh game after recovering from 0-3
only in three occasions have produced the partial comeback which the Celtics did tonight, forcing a seventh game of an NBA playoff eliminator after losing 3-0.
The first precedent occurred in 1950-51 seasonwhen the New York Knicks reached the final against the Rochester Royals, but lost in the first three games.
It took 43 years for that scenario to repeat itself. In the 1993-94 season, It was the Denver Nuggets, finalists of this edition of the Playoffs, who started the West semifinal against the Utah Jazz with three losses and then tied it.
The latest case occurred at 2002-03 and it was the Portland Trail Blazers who tied the first round series against the Dallas Mavericks.
Those three returns, however, there has been no happy ending for the teams that have been rowing the series from behindbecause then they fell in their respective seventh games.
This Monday, Boston will try to destroy this trend, with an encouraging fact for his statements: unlike previous occasions, the we will face the decisive match at home at TD Garden.
If he finally beats Miami, he will go down in history by breaking the 150 failed attempts in NBA history to go from 0-3 postseason.
While, The Denver Nuggets continue to wait a definition in the eastern final to discover the rival he will face in search of his first champion ring.
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.