Miami Heat 111 vs 103 Boston Celtics summary: stats and highlights | Game 6 Eastern Conference Finals
The Miami Heat survived Game 6 in Boston and set up a winner take all matchup against the Celtics on Sunday night. Jimmy Butler exploded in the elimination game, going for 47 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists in the 111-103 win.
Heat shake off shooting problems in Game 6
The Heat came into Friday’s game the heavy underdogs after running into some serious offensive issues in the last two contests. With their back to the wall and critics already handing the series to the Celtics, Butler and the Heat went into Boston and came out alive.
It should come as no surprise that when Jimmy Butler struggles the Heat struggle. That’s what happened over the last two games. Butler had 6 points in Game 4 and 13 in Game 5, but on Friday Butler gave one of his best playoff performances ever with his back against the ropes.
Butler started hot, and didn’t slow down. He would end the game with 47 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals, putting the Heat on his back and carrying them to a deciding Game 7.
Butler and Lowry get redemption
The three point shooting that eluded Miami in the previous two games finally came around as the Heat caught fire from downtown sinking 8 first half threes. They made just 7 of 45 threes last time out, but Butler and Kyle Lowry both stepped up in the elimination game.
Lowry was critical of himself coming into Friday’s game after having a couple sub par outings due to an injured hamstring. He said he had to play better and that he had been “terrible.” Lowry missed the first two games of the series, and had just 14 total points against the Celtics, but the Miami point guard had 18 and 10 assists when his team needed him most.
The first half was back and forth as both teams were locking horns, exchanging leads for the first time really all series long. The third quarter came and the Heat took control thanks to an unlikely hero. Max Strus who had missed 14 straight threes suddenly warmed up and went for 11 in a third quarter that saw Miami take a nine point lead into the final 12 minutes.
Game 7 in Miami on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET
Derrick White, who has been so good filling holes in the Boston roster this series, blew up and had his best game as a Celtic. White caught fire in the fourth and gave the home side their first lead since late in the second quarter on a three ball with under five to go.
White’s 22 and Jayson Tatum’s 30 were not enough to edge Jimmy Butler and the Heat in the final minutes of the game as the Miami will head home for Game 7 on Sunday night.
There is no reason why Jimmy Butler's performance tonight shouldn't go down as one of the best ever in an elimination game. He had 47, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals in Boston
This was the icing on the 47 point cake Butler served up in Boston on Friday night.
This and 1 sparked a 6-0 run that would eventually bury the Celtics late in the game.
For as hard as it looked for Butler in Games 4 and 5 things seemed easy for Jimmy in Game 6.
After 14 straight missed threes, Strus came to life in the third quarter.
Jimmy did a little bit of everything and a lot of scoring. He finished with 47 points, but also had 4 steals, 9 rebounds and 8 assists.
Bam didn't play a huge role on the score sheet but his presence down low helped the Heat survive another day.
Lowry called himself out in the preview to this game saying he had to play better. In Game 6 he starred with 16 points and 10 assists.
Butler came out in Game 6 to make a statement and he did so right out of the gate with 14 first quarter points.
The Miami Heat force Game 7 with a win in Boston when everyone had them written off.
Vincent with two FTs and that will do it!
Butler to the line and he hits both. He's got 47 for the night.
Brown gets fouled by Oladipo, but the refs will take a look at the last play. It is reversed after review and that will be an offensive foul. Oladipo planted his feet and took the charge outside the restricted area.
Tatum at the line and he hits two of two. 40 seconds to go.
Butler on the turnaround to beat the shot clock buzzer! What a shot that might be worth it's weight in gold for the Heat. 6 point game with 43 to go.
Tatum on the runner after an offensive rebound for BOS.
Timeout with 1:25 to go in the fourth.
Tucker back at the line and he hits one of two. That's the Heat's first miss from the line all night.
Tucker to the line after getting fouled by White. Both FTs good and we have a five point game with 1:45 to go.
Butler goes right at Horford and finishes over the Boston big man, and gets the foul. FT is good and Butler has 43.
Brown to the line and Kyle Lowry has fouled out. Brown misses both.
3:00 to go in Game 6 from Boston.
Smart to the line as this game is starting to get called a little tighter.
Lowry at the line and he drops two of two.
Lowry out of the timeout and he sinks the three!!! 16 and 10 assists for Lowry tonight.
White wide open in the corner for THREE!!! Boston leads for the first time since it was 46-44!!! Timeout Heat with 4:42 left.
Horford for THREE!!! We are all square from TD Garden!!!
Butler stops in the paint and seperates. Short jumper is good and he's got 40 tonight.
Tatum going to the line after Tucker picks up his fifth. Both FTs are good for Tatum.
Horford into Smart for the lay up down low.
Butler with another three ball!!! That's number 4 on the night and he's got 38 tonight.
Brown fouled on the drive and he hits both. Those are his first points of the second half. Two point game with under 8 to go.
8:14 to go.
Tatum just got a lay up waved off on an offensive foul.
Timeout with 9:36 to go.
White on the baseline gets the floater and the foul! He's in takeover mode at TD Garden. FT is no good, but we have a four point game.
White with the three ball! He's got three from downtown tonight!!
Butler stops on a dime turns and fades on Horford and sinks the jumper in the paint.
Williams to the line and he hits both. BOS is 20-20 from the line.
Tucker with the floater on the baseline
The call stands so Butler goes to the line and converts the three point play.
Butler off the pump fake gets the jumper from the FT line to go and the foul. BOS will challenge the and one call.
White starts the quarter with a three ball and we have a 4 point game. He's got 14 on the night.
We are headed to the fourth quarter with the Miami Heat hanging on to a seven point lead. Will Boston end it tonight? Or are we headed back to South Beach for Game 7?
White at the line and he hits two of two. BOS is 18-18 from the line.
Williams on the short range effort and who would have thought it would be R. Williams to carry them on the offensive end in the third quarter.
Strus with the three ball to quiet the crowd. He's got 11 this quarter.
Williams comes up with the block, runs the floor and finishes the play off with a jam.
White strings a three and that was a huge bucket for the Celtics who were in a slump
Oladipo at the line and he hits two of two. Largest lead of the game for the Heat.
Butler hits the jumper over White and he's got 30.
Williams on the put back after the Horford rebound.
Butler to the line and he hits two of two. Butler has 28 on the night.
Lowry out of the timeout for three and the lead is back to 9. He's got 3 threes tonight.
Brown to Williams over the top and he slams home the alley oop!! Timeout Miami as the TD Garden fans are on their feet.
Williams to the line and he hits two of two.
White out of the timeout goes rigth to the basket for a lay up
Strus with a long ball and the Heat have caught fire!!! 13-2 run for Miami and the Celtics need a timeout.
Oladipo announcing his presence into this game. He drops a three and he's got 7.
Smart left all alone after the pump fake on the baseline, and gets the easy lay up to go.
Oladipo to the line after getting fouled by Smart. He drops two of two.
Butler gets the FT to go out of the timeout.
Butler comes up with the steal and score and he's got 25 on 9-18 shooting.
Oladipo with a floater on the baseline and he's on the board for the first time tonight.
Smarts drops the corner three, and gets fouled by Tucker. That's Tucker's fourth, as Smart drops the FT to complete the 4 point play.
Butler gets the roll on the reverse. He's got 23 after that ball hung on the rim and finally dropped.
Adebayo back on the board after being held scorless for most of the first half.
Tatum stings a three ball and he's starting to take control. You can just feel it in the stadium.
Strus beats everyone down the court and finishes with the slam. That's five quick points from Strus.
Strus finally has a prayer answered after 14 missed threes, he hits the deep buzzer beater to beat the shot clock.
Butler hits the three pointer after a jump ball following a tie up.
The second half is underway from Boston!
Adebayo had back to back buckets after going scoreless for most of the first half.
Tatum can make things look so simple. This time the spin gets him a wide open slam.
You knew Tatum was going to show up in a big game. He's got 18 at the half.
It hasn't always looked easy for the Celtics tonight, but they have been showing their advantage down low with R. Williams.
Jimmy Butler came to play in Game 6. If the Heat lose tonight, it won't be becuase of him.
We are at halftime from TD Garden. Jimmy Butler is keeping the Heat ahead with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Lowry has 10 for Miami after calling himself out coming into this game.
Both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have 18 for the Celtics.
Butler to the line and he hits two of two to end the first half with 21.
Adebayo comes roaring in with the thunderous jam to tie the game up.
Adebayo finally with his first points, and they come off a put back from a Lowry miss.
Brown going right at the defense in tranisition and he gets the bucket and the foul. FT is good
Brown misses the lay up, but gets his own rebound and the put back. He's got 15 on the game.
Lowry to the line and he hits two of two.
Timeout here from TD Garden with 2:55 to go in the first half.
Brown to the line and he gets two of two to drop. The Celtics have the lead for the first time tonight.
Brown back in the paint and he gets the floater to go.
Brown off the between the legs dribble, pulls up from the elbow.
White to the basket and he's got his first FG off the bench.
Lowry with a long ball from the top of the key. The Heat are 8-13 from downtown.
Tatum on the baseline and he gets an easy jam. It looks like we might have a show down between the two teams's stars.
Butler to the line and that's Miami's first trip to the stripe. Both FTs are good for Butler and he's got 19.
Horford was just called for an offensive foul, and that's his third. He will stay in the game with 7:00 left in the half.
Butler with a spot up three! He's 3-3 from downtown, more threes than he's had the entire series.
Tatum with the fall away over Butler and the Heat need a timeout after a 7-0 run.
Tatum cutting, spinning and slamming down low. The TD Garden is on it's feet for the first time tonight.
Tatum answers with a three ball of this own.
Tucker in the corner, this time from the opposite side. THe Heat have six threes already.
Tatum to the line and we have the first points of the second quarter after two minutes.
That brings us to the end of the 1st quarter! Miami on top by 7 thanks to Butler's 14 point first quarter. The Heat went 5-8 from downtown to open the game.
Brown and Tatum both have 7 to lead the Celtics.
Tatum with the left in transition. He started hot, but has been quiet since.
Butler back to the iron, getting the lay up off the dish from Adebayo. He's got 14 already.
Smart to the line and he hits two of two.
Butler gets his own rebound, and the put back! He's got 12 points already.
Martin for three and the Heat are 5-8 from downtown!
Brown with a tough shot off the dribbe and he hits the baseline turn around jumper.
Butler in the corner for three! He doesn't shoot a lot of threes but he's two for two tonight.
White off the bench and right to the line. He's had double digits in the last two games and gets his night started with two made FTs.
Miami needs a timeout with 3:19 to go in the first quarter.
Brown to the line and he hits two of two. He's got a quick five in the last minute.
Brown on the pull up from deep! He's got his first score of the game after leading all scorers in Game 5.
Martin in transition and he finishes with the double clutch. The Celtics have come out very lethargic in this close out game.
Butler with a three ball! He's 3 of 3 tonight and he needs to have a big night.
Smart in the paint, using patience and power.
Butler putting the Celtics in the spin cycle and getting the tough lay up to go. He just smoked the defender in the paint to get that open look.
R. Wiliams on the alley oop off the inbound! Great understanding between him and Marcus Smart.
Lowry with a wide open lane to the bucket and he finishes with a finger roll. Timeout Celtics with 8:25 to go in the first quarter.
Lowry with a three ball and he was very vocal about having to be better in this game than he has been.
Strus on the slam after the steal. That's his first make in his last 17 shots. Strus will take what he can get at the moment and a dunk will feel good for the Miami guard.
Tatum to the line where he hits both and he's got all 5 Celtics points.
Tatum with a three ball! He's had three games of 20+ points in the first half in this series.
Butler slashing to the rim and gets his first basket of the game.
Tucker in the corner for three, and we have the game's first points. MIA shot less than 20% from three last game.
We are underway in Game 6 from TD Garden! The Heat hoping to survive, while the Celtics have a chance to punch their ticket to the FInals.
Tatum to have a night?
Jayson Tatum has a knack for showing up in big moments. His numbers haven't been jaw dropping in this series but he's getting 24 an outing in this series, but don't be surprised if he puts up 40 or more tonight.
Tonight's odds
According to Bet365.com the Boston Celtics are 8.5 point favorites at home, with the Over/Under set at 201.5. The Celtics are obviously the favorites in this game. They are back home and look like they have the Heat's number. Having said that 8.5 is a lot of points in a close out game. I'm taking the Heat with the points.
The Celtics need one more win to get to the NBA Finals. This is Coach Udoka's starting five for the biggest game of the year, and biggest game of the last decade.
The Celitcs are coming into the biggest game of the season, and they arrived at the TD Garden rocking the summer time casual drip.
They might be battling injuries, but Eric Spoelstra is going to throw everything he has at the Celtics tonight. Lowry and Strus, who were questions coming into tonight, are in the starting five.
Derrick White has played a huge role this series. He broke into the Starting 5 in Game 4 when Marcus Smart was ruled out with an ankle injury. He had double digits in the first quarter and finished the game with 13. When Smart was in foul trouble early on, White came off the bench and scored 14.
Butler blues
After scoring 41 in Game 1 and 29 in Game 2 Jimmy Butler went cold. He scored 13 last game, and is averaging 9 points a game over the last three. If Butler doesn't come out to play tonight the Heat will be heading home early.
Meanwhile the Heat have been dealt another blow with the news that Tyler Herro will miss the third straight game with a groin injury. Miami's offense has struggled with out their sixth man. Without Herro the Heat get a bit to one dimensional and too much of the scoring burden lands on the shoulders of Jimmy Butler.
The Celtics got a big boost in Game 5 when defensive studs Robert Wiliams and Marcus Smart were cleared to play Both will be available for tonight's potential close out game.
Game 5 recap
The Boston Celtics shut the Miami Heat down in the fifth game of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat shot just over 30% for the game and went 7-45 from three point range. Despite the shooting struggles, the game was tight until the final 14 minutes. The Celtics end the third and started the fourth quarter on a 24-2 run to take control and cruise to victory.
Heat vs Celtics
The Boston Celtics have a chance to close out the Eastern Conference Finals tonight at TD Garden. The top seeded Miami Heat are facing elimination for the first time all postseason and AS English will have you covered with live coverages, stats, scores and highlights of tonight’s Game 5.
Celtics have to capitalize in Game 6 say Brown
Jaylen Brown knows chances like tonight’s close out game at home don’t come around all the time. "This is a great opportunity," Brown said. "Leave everything on the floor. You don't want any feelings of regret. We got an opportunity to do something with this group that's special."
"So let's not take that for granted. Let's come out Friday on our home floor, and play the best version of basketball we played all season. This is a big game for us."
Lowry self critical
The Heat have dealt with their fair share of injuries this postseason, including Kyle Lowry’s hamstring. Lowry has been playing, but not well and he was very honest with reporters before Game 6. "I've got to play better," said Lowry, who is dealing with a hamstring injury. "I (am) playing terrible. It is what it is. I'm out there, so I've got to do a better job,” said Lowry
It's been over a decade since the Celtics have been to the NBA Finals. Only 48 minutes seperates them with a date with the Golden State Warriors for a shot at the titile.
It's win or go home for the Miami Heat tonight in Boston. The message is clear. The mission will be be tough against a Celtics team that has been rolling on the offensive and defensive end.
Game 5 recap
The Boston Celtics shut the Miami Heat down in the fifth game of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat shot just over 30% for the game and went 7-45 from three point range. Despite the shooting struggles, the game was tight until the final 14 minutes. The Celtics end the third and started the fourth quarter on a 24-2 run to take control and cruise to victory.
We are live from Boston
Hello everyone and welcome to TD Garden where the Celtics are a win a away from returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since the 2009/10 season when Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce lost to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. The Heat lost Game 5 in Miami and now face an uphill battle to get back to the Finals for the first time since getting there in the Bubble in 2020.
Heat vs. Celtics live
The Boston Celtics have a chance to close out the Eastern Conference Finals tonight at TD Garden. The top seeded Miami Heat are facing elimination for the first time all postseason and AS English will have you covered with live coverages, stats, scores and highlights of tonight’s Game 5.