The Miami Heat secured their spot in the NBA Finals on Monday with a commanding 103-84 win over the Boston Celtics, preventing the Celtics from completing a historic comeback after being down 3-0 in the series.
Jimmy Butler led the charge for Miami with 28 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, while Caleb Martin provided a significant contribution with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
The Heat will now face the Denver Nuggets in the championship final, with the series set to begin on Thursday.
Miami capitalized on an early injury to Boston star Jayson Tatum and the Celtics’ poor shooting performance to avoid becoming the first team in NBA history to lose a playoff series after leading 3-0.
The Heat bounced back from a heartbreaking game-six defeat, where they lost on a last-second tip-in, to clinch the Eastern Conference final 4-3, silencing the raucous Boston crowd after the initial minutes.
“We stayed together as a group and as a team,” Butler remarked. “We talked about going to get a tough win on the road, and we accomplished just that. But we’re not satisfied. We’re happy. We’re ecstatic. But we have one more to get.”
The Heat, aiming for their fourth NBA title and their first since 2013, last reached the NBA Finals in 2020, where they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers.
On the other side, the Nuggets have advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in their history. They swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference final and have enjoyed a longer rest period since their last game on May 22.
Miami established a lead of 17 points in the second quarter, a margin they had not relinquished all season, but Boston narrowed the gap to 52-41 by halftime.
Regardless of Tatum’s injury, Derrick White scored eight consecutive points, bringing the Celtics within 59-51. However, Caleb Martin sank a baseline jumper just before the third-quarter buzzer, accumulating nine points in the period and extending Miami’s lead to 76-66 heading into the fourth.
At the start of the final quarter, Martin’s three-pointer ignited a 7-0 run for the Heat, resulting in an 83-66 advantage, matching their largest lead of the game up to that point.
The Celtics went nearly four minutes without scoring and failed to mount a significant comeback, shooting a dismal 9-of-42 from beyond the arc.
“We shot 21 per cent from three,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. “The defence was still there. They gave it everything they had. That’s the most important thing to take from this. We fell short, but it’s not because the guys lacked togetherness and character.”
Despite his injury, Tatum played through the pain and finished with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting. He landed awkwardly on his left ankle after a baseline jumper in the opening seconds of the game but persevered throughout.
