MIAMI—Not this time. After being thwarted on the doorstep of the NBA Finals three other times in the previous five seasons, the Boston Celtics have broken through.
The beasts of the East, again.
And now a chance at an NBA title awaits.
Eastern Conference finals MVP Jayson Tatum led the way with 26 points, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart each added 24 and the Celtics beat the Miami Heat 100–96 on Sunday night to earn a berth in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.
“This is amazing,” Smart said. “We finally got over the hump.”
It was Boston’s first Game 7 win on another team’s home floor since topping Milwaukee for the 1974 NBA title; technically, the Celtics were the “road” team when they beat Toronto in a Game 7 two years ago at the restart bubble, but that was at Walt Disney World….