Miami Heat 103 vs 84 Boston Celtics summary: stats and highlights | NBA Playoffs Game 7
Caleb Martin: From G League to the NBA Finals
Caleb Martin went undrafted in 2019, was placed on the Hornet's G League team, then dropped in 2021.
Now, he's on his way to the NBA Finals after breaking an NBA record, dropping 26 points and 10 rebounds in the Heat's Game 7 win.
Read more about his journey to the top here.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the MIAMI HEAT and DENVER NUGGETS will be this Thursday, June 1!
Check out the full schedule and how you can watch every single game.
Also make sure to follow along with our live text coverage of the games right here at AS USA.
The Miami Heat are moving on to the NBA Finals after holding off the Boston Celtics historic comeback bid in Game 7 from TD Garden. Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 28 points and was named Eastern Conference Finals MVP following the 103-84 close out win.
Tatum turns ankle to start Game 7
After Derrick White’s last second stunner to win Game 6, the question coming into Monday’s game was how the Heat would respond on the road after a gut wrenching defeat at home?
Although Boston had taken the momentum back in the series by winning three straight they came back to a TD Garden is which they had been drastically underwhelming during the post season. They had played 10 home games before Game 7, and they were 5-5 in games in front of their home crowd.
The Garden was a mad house in the 30 minutes leading up to tip off to Game 7. Boston hadn’t seen that sort of atmosphere since the days of Larry Bird, but they were silenced early right after tip off after Jayson Tatum twisted his ankle of the first possession of the game, and would not look himself in any part of the Game 7 loss.
A star is born
Miami started the game just 2/11, but withstood the early blow from Boston and took the lead with an 18-6 run to end the first quarter as Boston scored a season low 15 points in the first quarter.
Jimmy Butler found his rhythm early on, but it was Caleb Martin, who may have been the best Heat player in the series, that got Miami going from the start. Martin’s hot start and the Celtics putrid shooting from downtown allowed Miami to jump out to a ten point lead in the second quarter, and the Heat would keep that cushion for most of the game.
After shooting 7/35 from three point range in Game 6, the Celtics started the game missing their first 11 triple tries, but they did not shy away from the long ball despite their shooting struggles. They ended the night 9/42 to on a night in which they scored just 84 points.
Butler’s MVP performance
The lead stretched to 17 in the first half and the visitors went into half with an 11 point lead, as Tatum and Jaylen Brown both struggled to shine in the deciding game from Boston. Tatum ended the night with just 14 points as his ankle hindered him from ever finding his flow on the offensive end. Brown had 19 points, but went 8/23 and turned the ball over 8 times.
It was Derrick White who had to make a solo surge in the third quarter, scoring eight straight points to but the lead to single digits for one of the few times on the night. He finished the night with 18 points, but he was never going to be the saving grace with Boston’s star duo suffering an off night at the worst possible moment.
While the stars struggled for the Celtics, Butler shined, posting 28, 7 and 6, but he had plenty of company in Game 7. White’s personal third quarter run was broken up by a couple of big buckets by Caleb Martin who had 14 in the first half and scored 9 of his 12 second half points in the third quarter. Bam Adebayo chipped in 12, 10 and 7 assists while Gabe Vincent had another 10 points.
Heat vs. Nuggets Game 1: Thursday Night
As hard as Boston tried to cut into the double digit lead in the third, Miami kept their cushion and to take a 10 point lead into the fourth quarter. Martin and Butler went on a 7-0 run to start the final quarter to stretch the lead to 17 and the Celtics comeback train ran out of steam.
After the Game 6 loss in Miami, the Heat were eerily calm and Monday’s game shows you exactly why. Eric Spoelstra had his team ready for Game 7 despite the heart breaking loss. The Heat are the just the second eight seed to make the Finals and now they will take that scrapy mentality to Denver for Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night.
Butler did exactly what we expected him to do in Game 7. He led his team in the decisive Game 7 after a couple of sub par games in the three striaght losses.
A very cool Jimmy Butler accepted his ECF MVP, but you can see he and the Heat know the job is not done. Miami have surprised the world reaching the Finals, do they have anymore surprises left in the tank?
The eight seeded Miami Heat are going to the NBA Finals and avoid ending the series on the wrong side of history thanks to a massive Game 7 win on the road. The Denver Nuggets await in the NBA Finals. Tip off to Game 1 in Denver is Thursday at 8:30 pm ET.
The Heat started the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run and squashed the Celtics chances of a comeback early in the final 12 minutes.
This was the last bucket of Martin's night. It's put him at 26 for the night and stretched the lead to 13 to deflate the TD Garden to start the fourth quarter.
After scoring 14 in the first half Martin had 9 in the third and fended off the comeback bid from Derrick White and the Celtics.
White cut the lead to 8, but Caleb Martin came up with a couple of the biggest shots of his career to end that run and quiet the crown down in the third quarter.
Miami went into the break up 11, and didn't take their foot off the gas in the beginning of the third quarter. A 7-2 run put the Heat up by 16 before Derrick White tried to pull the Celtics back all on his own.
Butler had 11 at halftime, but was playing second fiddle to Caleb Martin who had 14 going into the break.
The Celtics struggled on the offensive end and it was in large part due to Jayson Tatum spraining his ankle on the opening possession of the game.
Caleb Martin didn't win the ECF MVP, but he had a great case for it. He was the Heat's best player throughout the series and in Game 7 he put his team on his back and carried them to the win. He had 14 in the first half and the Celtics couldn't come up with an answer for him all game.
The beauty of this Heat team, is that it's not just a superstar and four other guys on the court. They are a team relies on the top guy on the stat sheet to the bottom guy. Lowry and Robinson connected on this easy lay in, but it was everyone who chipped in during the Game 7 victory.
Gabe Vincent had quite the series in the Eastern Conference Finals. He set a career high in Game 3 and was instrumental as a second or third scoring option.
Haywood Highsmith didn't get much playing time this season or in the post season, but coach Spoelstra called his number and he delivered.
Robinson came off the bench and hits this three ball to give the Heat a double digit lead that they would hold on to for almost the entire rest of the game.
Jimmy Butler had a tough last few games, but Playoff Jimmy was back to his best in Game 7 when his team needed it most.
The Heat came out cold to start the game, shooting just 2/11 from the field but they kept their poise and and ended up taking control of the game until the finish line.
IT'S ALL OVER!!!
THE MIAMI HEAT GO INTO BOSTON AND TAKE GAME 7 TO ADVANCE TO THE NBA FINALS!!!
Hauser follows up his own miss and gets the put back to go.
Adebayo with the slam to put the exclamation on this Game 7 win!
Timeout Heat with 1:50 to go in the fourth quarter.
The Boston Celtics have just subbed out their starters preparing for the worst.
Muscala hits the three off the bench.
Lowry takes it off the deck and lays it up and in.
Adebayo hits Butler streaking to the rack and he finishes with a flush.
Smart with back to back buckets after the steal and score and MIA will take a timeout with 3:45 to go in the fourth.
Smart gets to the cup and hits the lay up off the glass.
Under 5:00 to go in the fourth!
Butler to the line after the foul on Brown, and he hits one of two FTs.
Brown gets the easy bucket after the forced TO, but that's coming much too late for the Celtics.
Butler blows past Tatum and gets the easy lay up out of the timeout.
Adebayo hits Robinson on the curl for the lay up and the Celtics take a timeout with 6:07 to go in the fourth.
Brown hits a tough shot in traffic and he's got 18 but also has 8 TOs.
Adebayo at the line after the foul on Tatum and he hits both FTs.
Adebayo pulls up and drills it over the hand of Horford!
Lowry pulls up from the FT line and hits the mid range jumper as the shot clock expired!
Extra pass from Smart to Horford in the corner for three!!
Robinson silences this crown with a three ball off the inbound!
Tatum shifts through the paint and throws it down with two hands out of the timeout.
Brown turned it over and that leads to a Butler jam on the other end!
It's a 7-0 Miami run to start the quarter and the C's need a timeout.
Butler had Williams on skates and pulled up from the elbow.
The call remains a common foul so Miami gets the ball back up 13.
Brown was just called for a charge and the play will be reviewed looking for a flagrant foul.
Martin drills the three ball to start the third quarter and he's got 26!!!
We are headed to the fourth quarter with the Heat up by 10!!!
Derrick White had 13 points after the break, but Martin kept the C's at a distance with some huge shots in that quarter.
Martin closes out the quarter with a turn around fader on the baseline and he's got 23 on the night, 9 in the quarter!
White got fouled by Highsmith and he hits both FTs at the line.
Martin takes a dribble and pulls up from downtown for three!!!
Tatum grabbed the defensive rebound and was fouled by Strus. Boston is in the bonus and Tatum hits both FTs with under a minute to go in the third quarter.
Adebayo finally sees the ball go through the basket on a layup off the Butler assist.
G. Williams was wide open in the corner and he sticks the three ball!
Butler drills the step back three ball and the lead is back to 10!
White goes to the line after the foul on Vincent and he hits one of two FTs.
White just hits a lay up but was called for a travel. That would have set this place on fire!
White gets into the paint and he hits the floater!!! He's got 10 in the quarter and the Heat need a timeout with 4:49 to go in the third quarter.
There is still a lot of time left in this game.
Williams snatches another offensive rebound and finds Tatum open for the three ball!
Strus drills the three ball out of the inbound and the lead is back to 13!!!!
Entry pass from Tatum to Williams and he seals off Bam for the lay up.
Martin on the spin and the fader from the baseline and his last two buckets have taken the wind out of this TD Garden.
Martin drills the elbow jumper and that was a huge bucket from Martin, maybe his biggest of the series.
White with the runner in the lane AND THE FOUL!!! FT is good after the foul on Strus and he's on an 8-0 personal run!!!
White strings a three ball and that's five quick points from the Game 6 hero.
White heads to the line after the foul on Butler and he hits both FTs.
Butler splits the defense and he hits the floater over Horford and the Celtics need a timeout not even 2:00 into this third quarter.
Vincent just walks to the cup off the pick and roll and the lead is up to 14.
Brown on the pull up jumper and he's got 15 on the night.
Butler with a spot up three ball to start the second half, and he's got 14 on the night!
WE ARE BACK IN BOSTON FOR THE SECOND HALF OF GAME 7!!!
Jimmy had a quiet 11 in the first half, but you know he's got plenty more in the tank as this Game 7 and this series comes down to the wire.
Martin has 14 on the night and just like he has done all series long, looking like the most dangerous scoring option for the Heat.
Vincent and Martin have combined for 22 first half points, and those two are writting their name in the history books of the Heat franchise.
Robinson had a fantastic fourth quarter and it was almost enough to win Game 6. Tonight he has been a little more subdued but this three put the Heat up double digits.
The C's missed their first 12 threes of the game, and didn't do nearly enough of this in the first two quarters. This game is not over, but Boston need easy buckets around the basket and stops on the other end.
Once Miami got a little warm from the field, Boston went cold and the lead crept up to double digits after a 18-6 run to end the quarter.
The Heat had to wait three minutes to get their first points of the game, and shot 2/11 to start the night but Butler and company straightened the ship for the rest of the first half.
The Heat went up as much as 17 in that first half, after Jayson Tatum went down with an ankle injury on the very first play of the game.
Boston are shooting just 38.6% and 4/21 from three point range, including going 0/12 to start the game.
Brown has 13, Tatum has 7 and R. Williams has 6 off the bench.
It's been the Caleb Martin show to start the game. He's got 14 while Butler has 11 and Vincent has 8.
WE ARE HEADED TO HALFTIME IN BOSTON!
Smart hits the short jumper after stopping and popping in the paint.
Butler forces his way into the paint and he gets the floater to go.
Butler sticks a three in the corner to deflate this TD Garden! Big bucket by Butler!
Tatum on the penetration and finish with the finger roll.
Smart drew the offensive foul on one end and then drllls the corner three on the other end with under 2:30 to go in the half!
Adebayo to the line and he hits both FTs after the foul on Williams.
White closes the gap to 10 with a DEEP three pointer and they could use him to get going on a night in which Tatum is going to be nursing that ankle all night.
Vincent drills the corner three after the some great ball movement as the shot clock buzzer expires!
Tatum with a tough contested shot on the baseline and that's just his second FG of the night.
Brown gets to the iron and lays it up and in off the Tatum assist.
Martin going back to the cup and he gets the lay up to go. He's got 14 already!
Williams on the tip in after following the Tatum missed lay up.
Martin on the fader and he gets the friendly roll from the jumper in the paint out of the timeout.
Tatum picks up the loose ball and turns on the jets for the scoop and score on the break. His ankle looked fine on that burst and the Heat will take a timeout up 13 with 6:57 to go.
Williams raises high and throws it down on the alley oop from Brown!
Robinson with a back door cut and Lowry hit him on the bounce pass for the layup.
Lowry with a three of his own and the Heat are on fire from DT!!! The lead is up to 15 in the second quarter!
Brown answers back with a three ball off the dribble! Boston is starting to warm up from deep, but can't get a stop.
Lowry runs the break and finds Martin in the corner WIDE OPEN FOR THREE!
Vincent answers right back with a three ball on the step back after the screen from Adebayo!
Horford finally gets a three ball to go after the Celtics missed their first 12 of the night!
Tatum lost the ball and Highsmith takes it for the steal and the score and the Celtics need a timeout early in this second quarter.
Robinson off the bench and on the board as he snaps a three off the dribble!
We are at the end of the first quarter and the Heat take the lead after an 18-6 run from Miami to end the opening 12 minutes.
Martin has 7, Butler has 6 and Strus has 5 and Miami went 8/13 after starting the game 2/11.
Boston is 0/10 from DT, and shooting just 6/23 after a 4/8 start to the game and Jayson Tatum's twisted ankle is a cause for concern for the C's even though he is still in the ball game.
Strus gets to the bucket after the Lowry dish and the Heat lead is 7!
Butler with a drive and a finish at the iron.
Smart hits R. Williams for the alley oop after a couple of offensive boards from Boston.
Martin drills a three ball and this time it's going to stand with two feet clearly behind the line. He's got an early 7!
Martin's three was reviewed and ruled a long two, and Brown hit both FTs out of the break to make it 15-13
Miami take a timeout with 2:34 to go in the opening quarter!
Butler takes R. Williams off the dribble and pops a baseline jumper from the mid range.
Sturs walks into a three ball and that's back to back long balls for Miami to take the lead! 10-2 run for the Heat.
Martin drops the first three ball of the night, and he's got an early five points and we are tied up.
Tatum pulls down another offensive rebound and finds White who put it on the deck, spun in the paint and finished the on the floater.
Butler scoops up the loose ball after Brown lost it and he get the easy deuce in transition.
Vincent hits the pull up jumper out of the timeout and we continue to wait for Jimmy Butler to get involved in this game.
We are headed to our first timeout, five minutes into the first quarter. Boston are off to a quick start hitting 4/8 FGs while the Heat are just 2/11 from the field.
Brown with three straight FGs, this time he puts it on the deck and finishes with a finger roll.
Martin on the tip in after following up his own miss.
Brown hits back to back buckets, this time on the pull up from just inside the arc. He's going to need to be huge if Tatum isn't going to be 100%.
Adebayo puts his head down and took Horford to the rack for the first Heat points, three minutes into the game.
Tatum finds Horford after grabbing the offensive rebound and dumped it off to the big man for the lay in.
Brown pulls the trigger off the dribble and hits the mid range jumper.
Tatum just twisted his ankle after the drive on the opening possession of the game. He was fouled by Vincent and came down on the leg of the Heat player who fell to the floor.
He goes to the line and hits one of two FTs.
GAME 7 IS UNDERWAY FROM BOSTON!!! 48 MINUTES TO DECIDE WHO IS GOING TO THE NBA FINALS!!!
Caleb Martin gets a second straight start. He has been the best scorer in this series for the Heat, but tonight they need to see Jimmy Butler play like Playoff Jimmy.
It's no surprise that the Boston Celtics are going back to Derrick White in Game 7 after he has revolutionized this series over the last three games. We can talk about White all we want, but tonight is all about Jayson Tatum.
Call on Jayson in elimination games
Jayson Tatum has been the Celtics rock all season. He was voted to the NBA First Team after the best season of his young career, and now he is looking to add another award to his already full trophy cabinet. This will be the 6th elimination game that the Celtics will play this post season and in those five potential knockout games ,Tatum is averaging 31 points, 10.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists. Who can forget his record breaking 51 point Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers to move on to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Game 7 History
Tonight will mark the 148th Game 7 in the history of the NBA, and for the second straight year, the Heat and the Celtics are meeting in a Game 7. Boston hold the record for most Game 7s played and most Game 7s won, having played in 36 and won 27 of those decisive games. In the 147 games leading up to tonight, the home team has closed out the series with a win 111 times, while the road team has won just 36 times. We have already seen a Game 7 in this postseason, and let’s just remind you what happened in that game.
The history of 0-3 comeback
I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but tonight history can be made. The Boston Celtics can go down in folk lore of the NBA with a win that would complete the comeback after falling behind 0-3 to start the series. In the history of professional American sports, it has only happened five times. We have seen it happen four times in the NHL, but only twice since 1976. There has only been one team to do it in professional baseball, and wouldn’t you know it, it was the Boston Celtics back in 2004 when they beat the New York Yankees.
This is just the fourth time a team has forced a Game 7 in the NBA. In the previous three games, the team looking to make the comeback were on the road and in all three instances that team fell short. The city of Boston is ready to make history one tonight, but they are going to have to take down a Heat team that say they are ready.
Will Jimmy have last word?
Will the real Playoff Jimmy please stand up!? The entire nation was all behind Playoff Jimmy Butler ready to crown the incredible playoff run as one of the best we have ever seen in the history of the league. Somehow, some way the Boston Celtics have neutralized him in the last three games. He has been held to 29, 14, and 24 points. Those aren’t terrible numbers but Game 4 was over before he could make an impact. In Game 5 he could barley get a shot off, ending the night with 10 field goals and 14 points. In Game 6 he almost played the hero in the final 6 minutes of the game, but he waited 36 minutes to make an impact, and even though it looked like he did enough to win it, Derrick White stole the headlines late.
The man of the hour
The Boston Celtics kept their cool after going down 0-3 and now it’s time for them to come back to the TD Garden, looking to etch their name in the history books. This comeback wouldn’t have been possible without the heroic efforts of Derrick White who started off the bench in the first two games of the series. Since his start in Game 3, he has been instrumental not just on the offensive end, but rebounding and bring an unseen energy and fight that looked to be lost in the opening games of this series. His game winner last game will go down as one of the most memorable shots in playoff history, but it would have never happened had he not stepped up for the C’s in Games 4 and 5.
Game 6 recap
It set up as a must win for Miami after losing two straight to give the Celtics life in the series. The Heat and the fans were desperately looking to wrap up the series before having to come back to Boston for Game 7 and they were less than a second away from doing so. It wasn’t the brightest start for the Heat’s stars as Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo came out of the gate cold. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown did not. They led Boston with 19 points in the first quarter and the C’s got out to a double digit lead in the second.
Tatum had 25 at half, but finished the game with just 31 after falling off in the second half. Jimmy Butler came to life in the fourth quarter and brought the Heat back from 10 down late in the fourth quarter to take a one point lead with 3 FTs leaving just 0:03 on the clock. That was enough time for Marcus Smart to take a desperation three and Derrick White to follow it up and beat the buzzer with a tip in to force Game 7.
We are live from the Garden
Hello everyone and welcome to Boston where the Celtics are looking to do something that has never been done in the history of the NBA. It was just over a week ago that the Celtics look on the brink of disaster after getting blown out by the Heat in Game 3 from Miami. Since then Boston has been on a historic comeback charge, and have a chance to become the first team in history to win Game 7 after falling behind 0-3. The Heat looked like they were going to cruise into the Finals, but suddenly all of the pressure has been put on them. Tonight they can avoid being on the wrong side of history while punching their ticket to the NBA Finals. We have 48 minutes to decide a winner out of the Eastern Conference. Will we see history? Or will Miami make their second Finals in four years?
Heat vs. Celtics Game 7
They are the sweetest words in all of sports: Game 7. Tonight we live it live from Boston as the Celtics look to make history. The C’s have fought back from an 0-3 deficit to even the series and if they win over the Miami Heat tonight, they would become the first team to complete the comeback and made a return trip to the NBA Finals. AS English will be with you all night providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of tonight’s do-or-die game from TD Garden.