BSJ ECF Game 7 Report: Celtics 100, Heat 96 - FINALS, BABY!!

Everything you need to know about the Boston Celtics win over the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics established themselves early in the game, opening up a 15-point lead after the first quarter. It was far from perfect, but Boston’s defense was on point and Miami looked discombobulated to start. They rallied in the second, after making a couple of runs that drew Celtics responses, and Miami closed on a 15-5 run fueled by more Jimmy Butler heroics. Boston answered, though, with a 17-9 start to the third behind Marcus Smart, but Miami fought back and Boston was only able to add a single point to their halftime lead. The Celtics were able to slowly build on that, holding off the Heat and getting it back over double digits. Once again, the Heat climbed back in it, thanks in part to a stagnant offense in the final few minutes as the Celtics tried to just run out the clock. Butler had a 3-pointer to take the lead, but he front-rimmed it. 

“I thought it would have been an incredible storyline for Jimmy to pull up and hit that three,” Erik Spoelstra said after the game. “I love that about Jimmy. That was the right look, and I just thought as it was leaving his hand, I thought for sure that was going down. It was a good, clean look, definitely better than anything we could have designed. It was a shame it didn't end that way, but I can't compliment Boston enough. They have gone through the fire and they earned that right to go to the Finals.”

Box Score

HEADLINES

FINALS, BABY! No matter how the end went, the Celtics are on their way to the NBA Finals. We can focus on the daunting task ahead of them tomorrow. Right now, this team -- the one that was 18-21, the one that was the 11th seed five months ago, the one that drove everyone insane and even drew calls for Ime Udoka’s job in December and January -- is playing for a championship. 

OK, that ending sucked, though: The Celtics' offense over the last few minutes was just begging for the clock to run out. They got away from everything that worked and built them the lead to start the quarter, and they very much played not to lose. I’m not sure how that Butler 3-pointer didn’t go down, because everything the Celtics had done up until that point was pointing to that shot going down. 

Shout out to Miami: They scrapped and fought and never gave up. That team was dead after Game 5 and they were a half inch from coming all the way back and maybe stealing this game. They deserve all the respect in the world for the fight they gave. 

TURNING POINT

Boston went on a 16-6 run after a couple of quick Heat buckets and a timeout, pushing the lead up to 98-85. It was juuuuuuust enough of a pad to hold Miami off. The Heat went on an 11-0 run before Butler’s missed 3-pointer. 

SIX UP 

Jayson Tatum: 26 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists for Tatum and two huge fourth quarter shots. Only two turnovers for Tatum, who was given the first-ever Larry Bird Trophy for Conference Finals MVP.

"It's an honor. It still doesn't even seem real right now," Tatum said. "I'm just extremely happy and grateful for all of this. Regardless of how long I've been in the league, I'm not too far removed from when I was in high school and when I was dreaming about moments like this.

"I still feel like a kid at some times that I'm truly living out my dream. I thank God every day just to be in this position to be able to do that. To be the first person to win this award, obviously after Larry Bird, it still hasn't like sunk in yet."

Jaylen Brown: 24 points and 6 rebounds for Brown, who also could stake a claim to the Conference Finals MVP for a few of his performances, but he was especially huge in the first half and perfect in the third. Boston gets away from him too much in the fourth. 

Marcus Smart: So he started poorly and had a tough finish. I think the end of the game was less his fault and the general fault of the team for stalling. That left Smart in some positions where he had no choice but to try to make a play. The beginning of the game was bad Smart where he was firing too quickly. 

The third quarter, though, was Smart at his absolute best and he was a huge reason why Boston was able to grab the momentum back after the Heat run at the end of the first half. He was fine midway through the fourth quarter and then things went bad, but I think that third quarter run was too important to the win to overlook. Also, after all that fourth quarter BS, Smart hit the two game-sealing free throws. 

Grant Williams: 11 points on 5-8 shooting but it wasn’t the 3-pointers, it was him beating the Heat defense down the floor in the first half and getting transition buckets. 

Derrick White: He hit a couple of huge 3-pointers and carried the Celtics through a stretch. 

Al Horford: He didn’t shoot well but man did he defend. His block on Max Strus’ dunk was an all-time highlight. 14 rebounds in a series where rebounding was the difference on most nights. He had 2 blocks on the night, a steal, and 3 assists. 

ONE DOWN 

Robert Williams: He was not himself. He gutted out nearly 15 minutes, but he was nowhere close to himself, which is more a shame than anything else. 

“He can't be himself to his standard and what he wants to do, and we're not asking him to be the Rob when he's 100 percent healthy,” Udoka said. “He has to understand that. We rely on him to keep everybody in their places coming off the bench, keep our units and matchups like we like them to start the game, and it's not going to be long rotation, his average minutes for the year. But what he gives out there is invaluable, just a presence in general.”

The Celtics gave up two quick buckets with Williams on the floor and Udoka had to call a quick timeout to get him off the floor. That's when Boston went on their 16-6 run.

TOP PLAYS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- They did it for Al

Ok, they didn’t exactly, but they made sure to show him the appropriate love after the game. 

“Nobody deserves it more than this guy on my right, right here, man,” Brown, seated to Horford’s left in the postgame media session, said. “His energy, his demeanor, coming in every day, being a professional, taking care of his body, being a leader, I'm proud to be able to share this moment with a veteran, a mentor, a brother, a guy like Al Horford, man. He's been great all season, really my whole career. I'm happy to be able to share this moment with somebody like him.”

Horford ended up with the ball in his hands as the final seconds ticked down. He tossed the ball into the air and ran into the scrum of teammates to celebrate. Later, the camera caught Horford down on hands and knees as he finally broke through and made it to the NBA Finals. 

“Yeah, man, just didn't know how to act. Just caught up, excited,” Horford joked afterward. “I've been a part of a lot of great teams, a lot of great teammates, and I'm so proud of this group. … For me it's just special to be with them and be able to help them and be a part of this. I'm really grateful to be in this position.”

Horford has certainly earned his moment. Now he has a chance to earn a ring, which would change the conversation about his career. I don’t want to be a prisoner of the moment and say a ring will make him a Hall of Famer, but because I think there is a larger discussion to be had. 

But, let’s face it, it will certainly elevate his case. 

- Just … wow

I’ll get into this in a separate piece, but I still can’t believe this is where things have gone this season. So much has happened that it doesn’t feel real. 

This Celtics team is going to the Finals? 

Outrageous. 

Of course, I’m sure some of you are still wondering what this team is made of.