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Jimmy Butler showed his competitive soul this Friday and, with 47 points, nine rebounds and eight assistsleader to Miami Heat at the TD Garden Boston and gave them a 111-103 win that forced Game 7 in the Eastern Conference finals, with the Golden State Warriors waiting in the Finals.
The team of Erik Spoelstra came out the winner of a vibrant game, in which he had a 13-point lead in the third period and was trailing by three points in the fourth, before Butler would silence, with some pure leader plays, the TD Garden.
He was supported by a double-double of 18 points and 10 assists from Kyle Lowryin his best game in recent months, and for three three-pointers Max Strus (13 points) and two of PJ Tucker (11 points).
To the Celtics They did not lack their usual defensive effort or the leadership of their stars. Jayson Tatum scored 30 points, with nine rebounds and four assists, and Jaylen Brown contributed 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
In addition, Derrick White He achieved the best performance of his ‘playoffs’ with 22 points and four triples, but his team had to give up before Butler’s epic night.
BUTLER, LDER PURO
Y Butler gave him the reason. With no room for error in the Garden, the number 22 started strongly, with fourteen points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in the first period, which allowed the Heat to gain a seven-point lead (29-22). .
He connected two triples of two and Miami managed five of eight, after the modest seven of 45 registered by Spoelstra’s in the fifth game.
But Butler (21 points, 9 rebounds), and partially Lowry (10 points), were the only ones to have offensive efficiency in the first half. They accumulated 31 of their team’s 46 points at halftime and Boston, little by little, pushed by Tatum and Brown, managed to reduce the margin.
TATUM AND BROWN THROW BOSTON
Tatum led the reaction by scoring thirteen consecutive points for the Celtics and finished the first half with 18 points, just like his teammate Brown, whose great push at the end of the fourth period allowed Boston to achieve its first lead of the night (41-40), with a basket and an added foul.
It was in the third period that Butler was not left alone, but had the valuable help of Victor Oladipo and of a Max Strus who, with 11 points and three triples, launched the Heat to the maximum advantage at 79-66.
Boston trembled, but did not lose its lucidity. Ime Udoka I asked for time out and, to the rhythm of Robert Williams in the paint, he managed to stay close to his rivals and cut the deficit to 79-72, almost a victory considering that for a moment the Heat seemed to be in physical and mental control.
With a 7-0 run in the opening of the fourth period, the first three points from Horford and a triple from a magnificent White, the Celtics took the lead at 97-94, to unleash the madness of the Garden.
BUTLER AND LOWRY FRUSTRATE THE COMEBACK
However, on the big night of Butler Lowry also slipped in with a pivotal 3-pointer to dampen the local enthusiasm and open an 11-2 Heat run that launched the Heat. Spoelstra up to a six-point lead at 105-99.
Tatum approached the Celtics with 101-105, but a new, amazing, buzzer-beater by Butler returned six points to the Heat, whose victory was endorsed with an offensive foul by Brown on Oladipo.
It will be the second time that the Celtics face a seventh game in these ‘playoffs’, after eliminating the Milwaukee Bucks in the previous round.
