Boston Celtics hit insane buzzer beater to force game 7 vs. Miami Heat
Marcus Smart’s 3-point heave off the inbound rolled down and out and it looked like the Boston Celtics season might finally be over at the hands of the Miami Heat in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. But an opportune bounce and timely tip-in from Derrick White gave the Celtics a 104-103 lead as the buzzer expired.
Upon replay, White clearly got the tip-in off with time left on the clock, just one tenth of a second. With the win, the Celtics have leveled the series at 3-3 after trailing 3-0.
A deciding Game 7 will be played in Boston on Monday at 8:30 p.m. EST.
The Heat scraped ahead of the Celtics on the prior possession when Jimmy Butler was fouled while shooting a 3. Down 102-100, Butler could tie the game or give the Heat the lead (or fail to do either). He cooly sunk all three free throws and Miami was mere moments from closing out the series and advancing to face the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals.
Instead, a shot from Smart almost saved the Celtics before White’s cleanup on the offensive glass propelled the Eastern Conference Finals to a decisive Game 7.
Jayson Tatum poured in a game-high 31 points despite going 0-for-8 behind the 3-point arc. A 15-for-15 showing at the free throw line helped his cause. Jaylen Brown added 26 and Smart tacked on 21.
White, with his game-winning bucket, scored 11 points.
White also made a Butler guarantee backfire
During his postgame press conference after Game 5, Butler highlighted some ways that Miami needed to be better from their last two outings. Butler then cemented that the Heat were going to do those things as he stated that they’d win Game 6 back in the Kaseya Center.
“We just gotta play better, start the game off better from the starters,” said Butler. “(We need to) make it more difficult for them. They’re in a rhythm since the beginning of the game.”
He continued: “But we’re always going to stay positive knowing that we can, and we will, win this series. We’ll just have to close it out at home.”
Now, following a gutting Game 6 loss, the Heat will get to take on the challenge of closing the game out on the road instead. TD Garden and a hornets nest of a crowd awaits Butler and Co. on Monday night in Boston.