The following comes courtesy of Bard, Google’s AI platform except where bold.
Don’t just watch the game, play along with thePeachBasket Pick’em!
The Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics 103-84 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday night to advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons.
Jimmy Butler was named the Eastern Conference finals MVP after leading the Heat with 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists [So close! Everything is right except Butler only had 7 rebounds]. Caleb Martin added 26 points and 10 rebounds for Miami, while Bam Adebayo had 19 points and 12 rebounds [Correct on Martin, who was a difference maker! But, a bit off on Adebayo’s numbers who had 12 points and 10 rebounds].
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 34 points, but he was the only Boston player in double figures [Tatum was hobbled after an unfortunate early twist to his ankle. He finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds]. Jaylen Brown had 13 points, and Marcus Smart had 11 points and 6 assists [Brown had 19 points while Smart finished with 9 points and 4 assists].
The Heat jumped out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back. They led by as many as 26 points in the third quarter and cruised to the victory [Biggest Heat lead was 23 points].
The Heat will face the Western Conference champion Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals. The series is scheduled to begin on Thursday night in Miami [Right day, wrong location. Game 1 will be in Denver!].
Here are some other key takeaways from Game 7:
- The Heat’s defense was dominant. They held the Celtics to 38.7% shooting from the field and 22.2% shooting from three-point range [Celtics finished shooting 39% from the field and 21.4% from deep].
- The Heat’s bench was a major factor. They outscored the Celtics’ bench 44-17 [Heat won the bench battle, but only 19-16].
- The Heat made timely shots. They shot 50% from the free throw line and 40% from three-point range [Heat shot 83.3% from the free throw line and 50% from deep].
- The Celtics struggled to get anything going offensively. They shot 38.7% from the field and 22.2% from three-point range [Look up].
- The Celtics’ turnovers were costly. They committed 18 turnovers, which led to 22 Miami points [Celtics turned the ball over 15 times].
The Heat’s victory was a remarkable achievement. They were the lowest-seeded team to reach the Eastern Conference Finals since the 1998-99 Knicks. They will now face the Nuggets in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2006 [ I am not sure what the 2006 reference is here. The Nuggets have never been to the Finals before and the Heat were there last in 2020. 2006 was the first time the Heat won it all. I guess that is what Bard was trying to tell us here?].
The primary narrative here was the Boston Celtics on the verge of making history as the first NBA team in 150 tries to win a series after being down 0-3. Game 7 was in Boston and the Celtics had the momentum after three straight wins and an exciting game 6 victory in Miami. Yet, the Heat were the more poised team and the Celtics got off to a rough start when Jayson Tatum tweaked his ankle. He continued to play, but he wasn’t the same.
