The Warriors will continue to wait after qualifying for the NBA Finals. They have no rival. The sensations seemed clear and came with a handy result: with two deplorable games in attack, with Butler’s doubts and Spoelstra’s little left hand, the Heat presented themselves again without a wild card like Tyler Herro -low due to injury in the last three games – and the Celtics solved the doubts of Marcus Smart and Robert Williams putting them to play. Who would have thought, with these ingredients, that the sixth was going to fall on the Floridians’ side? Well, anyone who admits that basketball is not an exact science and there are many variables here that can enter into a result. This is not about sensations, it’s about attacks and defenses on a court in a new game every day. Miami showed, today, why it was the best team in the regular phase in the East, at least for the qualifying balance, and offered a herculean resistance to the pushes of a Garden hot and hungry for Finals that remind them of that team of Pierce, Garnett and Allen who won the last franchise title 14 years ago.
Survival in the NBA 2021/22 for Miami after this win away from home by 103-111. The seventh match, win or die for both, will be played on the night of Sunday 29 to Monday 30 at 2:30 p.m. (Spanish peninsular time).
The Celtics were preparing for the biggest, but nothing is rosy in a tie with two of the rockiest teams in the NBA. Robert Williams wasn’t that good physically and was a drag, and Udoka didn’t change the plan with Theis or playing smaller with Horford and another small forward. The greens, today in black without this being a premonition, made a ball out of having too many sections with little presence of Tatum and Brown, their two main references. Defense once again played a key role among these favorites come true. The experience, as always, was a degree that someone like Kyle Lowry, criticized for his role and separated on several occasions due to various physical problems, did not waste to lend a hand in the hot moments. Special mentions also to Oladipo’s faith despite the failures and to Strus, who became a reference against the team that opened the doors of this League for him. A story, a story, which will have an extension in 48 hours.
Concentration prevailing in Miami, which came out stronger. Butler began his climb to the skies scoring the Heat’s first baskets. Williams (12), the less healthy of the two, the center, Robert, responded with a couple of attacks although it was clear that Adebayo could, also with his accurate reading of the game, do more damage to him than the other way around. Minutes of success in the opportunities from the triple for the visitors, which led them to constantly touch the ten lead before the end of the first quarter and at the beginning of the second. It was a crazy stretch for Brown (20) that tested the temperature of the waters because he responded to that 13-2 run on the brink of halftime, after being overtaken on the scoreboard for the first time, Miami responded by not losing concentration. Mini win for them. Returning from the locker room, Lowry (18) continued with his roadmap: if his shots didn’t go in, let others do it. The Heat guard, far from his best physical shape and with his ailments, is still one of the most intelligent in the competition and he showed it when everything got tight. His team hit another jump to open the third period, with extreme confidence from Strus (13) in his attempts. The blow was strong for the Celtics, who were thirteen down, but there the mini-victory changed sides and went to the local for the same reason as the previous one: the stellar moment had not hurt them so much and they did not take off. White (22) endured that stretch of the match like a wild boar, directing and rolling up his sleeves. Thanks to him they could fight for victory. The sky closed for Spoelstra’s men, who were in charge but saw a comeback coming from afar that materialized with two triples, one by Horford and the other by White. With three minutes to go, with the bag skin deep, the game was new: tie at 99. Butler arrived, with all the previous points in a backpack that seemed not to weigh him down. Jimmy made it 2+1 and, after three free throws from Tucker (11), the opportunity to sentence fell from the Garden tree: he received serve from the sideline, positioned in the right corner, he turned around in front of two rivals stepping on the 3-point line, he made it with only two seconds left on the shot clock and 43 in total and, despite everything, he did not change his face one bit. That’s how he is. A well-sought offensive foul by Oladipo definitively closed any local option. Butler, with a game reminiscent of LeBron James’ sixth in 2012 on this same stage: he finished like this: 47 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals, hitting half of his three-pointers, all free kicks and 16/29 of the field shots. A hero has appeared when everything was running out for the Heat and in Miami he can finish the job.