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The Miami Heat‘s comeback to win a do-or-die Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Friday, May 27, was nothing short of incredible. While much of the credit for Miami’s 111-103 victory belongs to Heat star Jimmy Butler going full beast mode, the rest of the team stepped up, as well.
Boston couldn’t keep up with the Heat’s relentless attack in Game 6, in particular, Celtics star Jaylen Brown. While the 25-year-old forward finished the night with 20 points, all but two of those points came in the first half. And those two second-half points came on free throws.
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During his postgame conference, Brown sent a strong message to the Heat while expressing his confidence that the Celtics can turn things around in Game 7.
“We’ve been resilient all year, and this is a different test,” Brown said. “Obviously this game hurt to lose on our home floor, but we’ve got to have a short-term memory [loss]. That team over there is hungry. They are experienced. So we’ve got to come out ready to go and almost just forget about last game and come out and have a great mentality.
“This definitely an ugly game. A lot of stoppages, et cetera. But it is what it is. It’s playoff basketball. We’ve got to come out next game. They forced a Game 7, so now we’ve got to come out and do what we do best.”
Butler Said After Game 6, ‘We Just Did Our Job’
Playoff career-high 47 points for Jimmy Butler forces Game 7.
Unreal performance.
Butler, who scored 45 points with nine rebounds, and eight assists in 45 minutes on Friday night, downplayed how amazing the Heat’s Game 6 win was coming after such devastating losses in Game 4 and Game 5.
Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang tweeted on Saturday, May 28, “I still can’t believe what I witnessed last night. Jimmy Butler was incredible. Just when it looked like he had nothing left, he generated 19 shots from inside the paint on 23 drives in Game 6. Butler had a total of 19 drives in Games 4 and 5.”
For the six-time All-Star, however, his superstar performance was merely him just doing what the team needed to win. Butler didn’t mention his nagging knee injury, either.
Hot hand.
“I think we just did our job,” the 32-year-old wing said. “We’ve been saying it this entire series: It’s not finished yet. We got Game 7 at the crib and we need a win.”
Jimmy Butler will do whatever it takes to get a W… and his teammates know that.
As for what powered his non-stop attack on both sides of the court against the Celtics Friday night, Butler pushed the accolades to his coaches and teammates.
“I think the majority of it comes from the work that I put and I do give [NBA trainer] Chris Brinkley a lot of credit for that. Every city I’m in he’s always flying in and out of it. He’s in Miami,” Butler said.
“But if not because of him it’s because of Kyle [Lowry], my coaches, my teammates, letting me know to be aggressive and be the best players on the floor. and I just got to remember that every time I take the floor.”
Game 7 Brings the Series Back to Miami
It all comes down to Sunday in Miami.
Game 7 will be on 5/29 at 8:30p on ESPN.
The Celtics/Heat series has been so wild and unpredictable that it’s truly hard to predict how Game 7 will play out at the FTX Arena in Miami on Sunday, May 29. However, the Heat having homecourt advantage, as they entered the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, definitely puts a feather in their cap.
“Everybody counted us out,” heat center Bam Adebayo said after Game 6. “Everybody thought the series was already over. I mean, that’s all the motivation we needed.”
Game 7 of the Celtics vs. Heat series will take place at 8:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, airing live on ESPN.
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Celtics Star Delivers Strong Message to Heat After ‘Ugly’ Game 6