The Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat 104-103 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, sending the series to a Game 7. Derrick White made a putback shot with two tenths of a second remaining, giving the Celtics the win. The victory moves the Celtics one win away from becoming the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit. The game was eerily similar to Game 7 of the same matchup on the same court one year earlier, with Boston controlling the proceedings throughout and having a sizable lead before giving it all back.
Tim Bontemps, ESPNMay 27, 2023, 11:35 PM ET
MIAMI — The Miami Heat were less than a second away from the NBA Finals.
But with a precious two tenths of a second remaining, Derrick White — who had served as the inbounds passer on the final possession for the Boston Celtics — managed to release a putback of a Marcus Smart missed jumper that fell through the net just as the buzzer sounded, giving the Celtics a heart-stopping 104-103 victory in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The win sends this series back to Boston for Game 7 on Memorial Day night and moves the Celtics one win away from becoming the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit
“Derrick White, like a flash of lightning, just came out of nowhere and saved the day, man,” teammate Jaylen Brown said.
“It was just an incredible play.”
It was an incredible series of moments — all of which were eerily similar to the way Game 7 of this same matchup on this same court played out almost exactly one year earlier.
Like in that game, Boston controlled the proceedings throughout. And, like in that game, the Celtics had a sizable lead — nine points, to be exact — when Jayson Tatum hit a couple free throws to make it 100-91 with 3 minutes, 4 seconds to go.
And, like in that game, Boston gave it all back.
“I don’t know if poise is a great word to use with those last four minutes,” White would say later with a smile, “but we found a way to win.”
But only just. On a night when the Celtics both made fewer 3s (7) and shot a worse percentage (20 percent) than they had in any regular season or playoff game this season, it had also been a truly horrendous night for Butler. But then he scored the final 10 points of the game for the Heat over a two-minute stretch: hitting a 3-pointer, followed by going 1-for-2 at the line, converting an and-one bucket (plus the free throw) and then, with three seconds to go, drawing a foul on Al Horford in the corner on a 3-pointer, and then going to the line — after a long review — and knocking all three free throws down.
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There was a long review because Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla chose to challenge the foul on Horford. But while the call wasn’t reversed, the challenge was crucial in another respect: it bought Boston time.
An extra nine-tenths of a second, to be exact.
Originally, referee Josh Tiven had called a foul with 2.1 seconds remaining. But while the officials would have reviewed whether the shot was a two-pointer or…
The Boston Celtics have forced a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference finals after Derrick White’s buzzer-beater won Game 6 for the team. The Miami Heat were just seconds away from advancing to the NBA Finals, but White managed to release a putback of a Marcus Smart missed jumper that fell through the net just as the buzzer sounded. The Celtics’ heart-stopping 104-103 victory sends the series back to Boston for Game 7 on Memorial Day night. This win moves the Celtics one win away from becoming the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit.
The game was eerily similar to Game 7 of this same matchup on the same court played out almost exactly one year earlier. Boston controlled the proceedings throughout, and the Celtics had a sizable lead when Jayson Tatum hit a couple of free throws to make it 100-91 with 3 minutes, 4 seconds to go. And, like in that game, Boston gave it all back. But Derrick White’s incredible play saved the day for the Celtics.
On a night when the Celtics made fewer 3s and shot a worse percentage than they had in any regular season or playoff game this season, it had also been a truly horrendous night for Butler. But then he scored the final 10 points of the game for the Heat over a two-minute stretch. He hit a 3-pointer, followed by going 1-for-2 at the line, converting an and-one bucket (plus the free throw) and then, with three seconds to go, drawing a foul on Al Horford in the corner on a 3-pointer, and then going to the line — after a long review — and knocking all three free throws down.
The challenge from Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was crucial in buying Boston an extra nine-tenths of a second. Originally, referee Josh Tiven had called a foul with 2.1 seconds remaining. But while the officials would have reviewed whether the shot was a two-pointer or not, the challenge wasn’t reversed. The Celtics are now one win away from making NBA history, while the Heat will have to win Game 7 to advance to the NBA Finals.
