Heat vs Celtics

Rarely can a single play in the third quarter drastically impact the outcome of a playoff game, but a shot by Max Strus in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference ...

Of course, Jimmy Butler likely doesn't pull up for 3 on a critical possession in the final minute if the Heat are up one in that scenario instead of down two. "The fact that it happened four, five minutes later in game time, it does change the context of how you play. Replay is supposed to be used only when there is clear visual evidence that the call on the floor was incorrect. While officials will often use replay to turn a 3-pointer into a 2-pointer minutes after the fact, it's exceedingly rare that a shot is wiped off of the board completely. Nearly three minutes later, with Robert Williams III about to take a free throw, an announcement could be heard in the background. Rarely can a single play in the third quarter drastically impact the outcome of a playoff game, but a shot by Max Strus in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics might have been an exception.

The Celtics advance to the NBA Finals after holding on for a thrilling Game 7 victory over the Heat in Miami.

After the Heat made a late surge, the Celtics close out the quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 13-point lead into the break. 10:37 p.m. — The Heat have to do a better job defending in transition. 9:41 p.m. — The outside shooting has made the difference early in Game 7. He's up to eight points and pushes the lead back out to 13, 30-17. 10:29 p.m. — The Heat have defended Tatum well one-on-one in the third. 9:21 p.m. — Herro making his presence felt as he combines with Adebayo who gets the and-1 bucket. 9:33 p.m. The Celtics' swarming defense forces the shot clock violation of the game as Vincent can't get the triple off in time. 11:14 p.m. — Jimmy Butler has a shot to put the Heat up by one, but the three is off. 11:00 p.m. — Make that an 8-0 run from the Celtics with 6:30 remaining. 11:09 p.m. — Jaylen Brown is called for an offensive foul, his fifth of the game. He gets called for a blocking foul on Jaylen Brown for what would be his fourth foul of the game. Miami is really struggling to get anything going in the half-court.

Jimmy Butler put on a show for the ages with the Miami Heat facing elimination. He may have to deliver another one on Sunday as a spot in the NBA Finals is ...

They lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2020 Finals. "You put yourself in this position, going up 3-2, to have two games to win one," Udoka said. They last reached the NBA Finals in 2010. Limiting Butler will be the Celtics' top priority -- and probably the second and third as well -- in Sunday's affair. I've played with some great players, and he's one of the best players I've played with. "They've got so much belief in me," Butler said.

SportsLine's Zack Cimini has revealed his 2022 NBA playoff picks for Game 7 of Celtics vs. Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.

- Celtics vs. He's only sharing what it is, and which side of the Heat vs. Heat? And which side of the spread is a must-back? Center Bam Adebayo also is due for a big game, as he is averaging 13.3 points, well below his 19.1 season average, and two fewer rebounds (10.1-8.0). The Heat also have been strong on the defensive end all season. Miami led the league in 3-point shooting (37.9 percent), but is hitting just 31.5 percent in the series. Miami is 20-10 against the spread this season as an underdog (4-2 at home) and 10-7 ATS in this postseason. Tip-off in Miami is set for 8:30 p.m. ET. Boston is favored by three-points in the latest Celtics vs. The Celtics' top scorers started Game 6 hot, with Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scoring 18 on a combined 12-of-18 shooting. Heat, and just locked in his picks and NBA playoff predictions. Heat NBA odds at Caesars Sportsbook, and the over-under for total points scored is set at 197. Both teams are really banged up after the long season, and the winner will head to the NBA Finals to face the Golden State Warriors, which start Thursday.

It's fitting that such a chaotic Heat-Celtics series comes down to a final decisive game. But good luck trying to figure out who will win.

Larry Starks: Heat. I originally picked the Heat to win the series in six games. "We've been a resilient group, overcome a lot of things this year, and just in general within the series and the playoffs, nothing has been easy," he said. When the Celtics are on, they clearly have a lot of advantages. "What you hope is that brings out the best in you and a different level. Boston in seven was my pick before the series, so there's no reason to change now. It’s almost like we need to take the harder route at times." This is one of the strangest series I have covered — the blowouts, wild point swings from game to game, the road team winning four of the six games. But we have guys that will just pick themselves up and get onto the next fight." Over the course of a long series like this, you're going to get pushed, uncomfortably so. Not much has transpired indicating that will happen, but there hasn’t been much rhyme or reason to the matchup. The first time came after Game 2, a Celtics blowout victory. His veteran presence and championship experience is required.

The NBA has revealed the referee assignments for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Celtics and Heat, and one name will stand out for most ...

Foster also was one of the officials when the Celtics defeated the Toronto Raptors in Game 7 of the second round inside the 2020 Florida bubble. The C's won Game 4 against the Heat, as well as Game 4 against the Brooklyn Nets in the first round, when Foster was among the referees. He has 28 years of experience.

The Boston Celtics will meet the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday night from the FTX Arena.

Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage. The Heat have Tyler Herro still listed as questionable at the time of writing. The Boston Celtics will meet the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday night from the FTX Arena.