Last week, the Celtics appeared to be dead in the water with a lot of questions possibly being raised in the offseason. They now stand just 48 minutes away from making NBA history as the first team to come back from a 3-0 deficit in a playoff series. So far, 150 teams have tried and they all have failed and this Celtics team is just the fourth to ever force a game 7. If the Celtics are able to win at home in Game 7 it could down as not just the greatest come back in NBA history but one of the best stories in recent Sports history.
With the series going from being a near sweep to what will be an historic Game 7 in Boston, one could ask how did we even get here? After losing by 26 points in Game 3 and many fans along with media alike questioning if they quit, Boston came out strong in the second half. Led by Jayson Tatum who scored 25 of his 33 points in the second half to give the Celtics their first win of the series.
Back home in Boston, the Celtics got going early knocking down seven 3-pointers and jumping out to an early 15 point lead that they were able to maintain the rest of the way. Several players on the Celtics, 4 of the 5 starters, scoring 20+ points. With the win, the Celtics appeared very confident despite still facing elimination being down 3-2 going back on the road. Jaylen Brown spoke on the confidence of his team as they try to make their epic comeback stating, "They let us get two, Don't let us get another."
In Game 6, with their backs against the wall the Celtics appeared like the better team for most of the game simply due to the Heat's inability to hit shots. The Heat shot just 35.5% from the field with their best players in Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo shooting a dreadful 9/39 from the field combined. Despite this the Celtics were unable to pull away due to them being overly reliant on their three point shooting though they shot just 20% from beyond the arc. The Celtics still managed to find themselves up 10 with under 4 minutes to go. From there, it became the Jimmy Butler show who scored 13 of his 24 points late in the fourth quarter. After Butler hit three clutch free throws the Heat appeared to be on the verge of finally clinching a finals berth. The Celtics were just 3 seconds away from going home until Derrick White scored the tip in off the Marcus Smart miss to keep Boston alive.
With the series tied 3-3, I believe the pressure has now shifted to the Heat as they are now on the verge of an unprecedented collapse. Especially when considering the fact that the Heat have not played well offensively the last 3 games with their top players not being as impactful as they were earlier in the series. Another factor will be how the Heat are able to respond after their heartbreaking loss in Game 6 although head coach Erik Spoelstra will be sure to keep them focused on the task at hand. As for the Celtics, this is a prime opportunity for Jayson Tatum to put together another legacy defining Game 7 performance like he did in the previous series against the 76ers. So far in these playoffs, the Celtics have been a team that have been at their best with their backs against the wall. I expect more of the same in Game 7 as I believe the Celtics will complete their historic comeback over the Miami Heat.
Source: NBA YouTube Channel
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