The Celtics are looking for their first appearance in the NBA Finals in 2010 and their first title in 2008.
Chad Finn, Nicole Young, Katie McInnerney and Scott Thurston will offer live updates and analysis leading up to and during the game. Follow below.
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Start of forecasts for the fourth quarter – 22:40
Young: Celtics with 6.
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Thurston: Heat cover.
fin: Celts with 8. But if this is a game that comes down to ultimate possession … yes.
End of the third quarter: Celtics 82, Heat 75 – 22:37
fin: The Celtics will need Horford or Grant Williams to hit 3 at a time.
Young: Marcus Smart’s bad shot, followed by another bad shot by Victor Oladipo. Why not pass the ball to Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo when you can try a 35-foot on your own?
Why the heat is still in it – 22:33
Young: Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo do their part. The duo combined 20 of 32 from the field for 50 points. The rest of the Heat are 4 out of 21 for 17 points.
fin: Jalan was excellent when he was in attack mode tonight. He made 6 of his 8 attempts for 2 points and all 6 free throws, but only 1 of 5 out of 3. He leads the Celtics with 21 points.
McInner: Interesting stats from ESPN Stats and Info: The Heat are 13-4 this season, when Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo score 20 or more in the same game. (Butler is 29, Adebayo is 21 at the end of the third quarter).
Young: Another mini-swing: The Heat almost broke the clock, but the referees decided that Grant Williams’ desperate bucket at the last second was good. Instead of falling 8 with the ball, Heat was still 10 behind.
Tatum can start, but it should happen soon – 22:27
fin: Tatum is now 6 to 17 after missing a few shots from close range, and a 7-0 Heat reduces the Celtics’ lead to 7. I feel he will, but that should happen soon.
Young: The Celtics will be in the bonus for the last 4:42 of the third quarter. This should help them maintain their pillow.
Update the result: 5:16, third quarter – 22:23
Celtics 72, heat 65
Young: Ha, the heat started reading the blog. Play with seven points now.
Is this over? Hmm … – 10:21 p.m.
Celtics 72, Series 58
Thurston: Good things happen when you take it to the basket; opens everything. Stay aggressive. A solid answer.
Young: I’m discussing whether to declare this game over. There are still more than six minutes until the end of the third quarter, but I think Heath missed their chance to make this game. They managed to get through at halftime with only six, so I decided to start the third quarter by taking control. Instead, the Celtics outscored them 17-9.
fin: Like I said, Marcus Smart reminds me of vintage Ray Allen. He is now 7 out of 12 on the field and 3 out of 6 out of 3.
If you declare this game over, I drive to Miami to shake your head in disapproval when you declare this game over. You know what this team does, for better or worse.
Young: Touched.
Update of results: 7:40, third quarter – 22:16
Celtics 67, Series 56
Young: They just retroactively removed a three-pointer from Max Strus because he was out of bounds.
fin: One thing that suggests Rob’s knee is wrong: he misses very short at close range.
I don’t like to take back points. And the repetition they showed on TV did not confirm that he was outside.
Rob Williams starts the third quarter – 22:08
Young: Robert Williams is on the court to start the second half. In the last two games, Williams has spent extra time in the locker room to stretch. I wonder if the change speaks to the scale of the game or an improvement in Rob’s status. Can I imagine the first one?
What should the Celtics change, entering the second half – 22:02
Young: It’s high time we double Butler.
It should come as no surprise that Jimmy Butler played all 24 minutes in the first half. He made 8 of his 11 attempts for 24 points, but missed four free throws. I expect him to play every minute of the second half as well, so we’ll see if he gets tired.
fin: I hardly want them to dispute his blows. He is a mediocre shooter, but with an incredible ability to make contact whenever he wants. My strategy is stupid, of course, but how disappointed he can be.
The Celtics have 24 minutes to prove that all these lessons we think they have learned since January are real.
Statistical check – 9:56 p.m.
Tatum: 13 points, 5-13 FG, 3-6 3PT, 7 rebounds
Brown: 15 points, 5-11 FG, 1-5 3PT, 5 rebounds
Butler: 24 points, 8-11 FG, 1-2 3PT
Abedayo: 11 points, 5-10 FG
Half time: Celtics 55, Heat 49 – 21:50
Young: Heath finished second in the second quarter with a score of 10-2, ending the disastrous end of the half for the Celtics. Miami is losing only six now. The third quarter was a problem for the Celtics, but they will have to set the tone early. I imagine Name Udoka is not happy in the locker room right now.
fin: Just a dumb second quarter for the Celtics. Putting up with 3 points, too many fouls. They are up by 6, but should be twice as much.
Name needs to talk to Smart about his choice of punches. You are a guard. Be one.
Thurston: The Celtics had a chance to really eliminate this – they completely got away with carrying out their attack and took it to the basket. And what to do with Butler on the other side? They have to make the other boys beat them.
Pedal to the metal – 9:47 p.m.
Young: The Celtics do a good job of keeping their lead whenever the Heat looks like they can pull within a single digit. Heath, meanwhile, is doing a good job of hanging out so the Celtics can’t back off with 20 or more. I will repeat: the Celtics must keep their feet on gas. Otherwise, Heat will be ready to capitalize.
fin: Remember when the Celtics were pushing the pace? Five of their last six punch attempts have been 3s.
Young: Al Horford, Grant Williams and Derrick White have three fouls each. It will be worth watching how fast they spent their fourth half.
You can’t let Jimmy Butler do that – 9:45 p.m.
Hey, just let Jimmy Butler stop for open 3. BOS leads to 9 #Celtics #Heat
– Gary Washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) May 30, 2022
The Celtics had a huge chance to go up 18-20 and instead raise nine.
– Tom Westerholm (@Tom_NBA) May 30, 2022
And a good sign for the Celtics – 21:42
Young: Jimmy Butler misses both free throws on the line – a rare sight and probably a sign of his fatigue. This is good for the Celtics.
fin: An interesting line-up of Heat, with Oladipo, Lowry and Strus with Butler and Bam.
Thurston: Butler himself maintains Heat in this, 21 of the team’s 38 and aggressively attacks the basket. Let’s see how Ime adjusts to that half.
Good day for Js so far – 21:38
fin: I may be sorry to say that, but neither Tatum nor Brown have lost so far. (At least according to the NBA.com boxing score.) Tatum is only 4 out of 11, but so far he is playing a very balanced game and leads the Celtics with four assists, which is twice as much as Heath as a TEAM.
Young: The fact that Tatum is playing a balanced game while shooting badly is a positive development.
Update of results: 5:18, second quarter – 21:35
Celtics 45, Series 32
Young: Good answer from Tatum there. With the crowd on their feet, applauding loudly after Heath reduced Boston’s lead to a single digit, he made his way to the edge and committed a foul. Too bad he missed the free throw and couldn’t finish And-1.
Mini swing there: Gabe Vincent broke a three-pointer to the right when the clock was running out, but the referees whistled that he failed to do so in time. Then, on the other hand, Jason Tatum found the Marcus Smart wide open for easy sailing. 45-32 Celtics instead of 42-35.
Where’s Rob Williams? – 21:32 h
fin: Do you know who has been invisible so far? Rob Williams. He missed a single shot, 2 rebounds, no blocks and a bad foul on reaching that gave Butler an i-1 in 9 minutes.
Young: I think Rob’s knee still hurts a lot. He was influential for the Celtics, even when he was injured, so I don’t wonder why they make him active, but I’m a little worried about the long-term consequences. Rob no longer has the best injury story.
fin: This is a really good point. I am still worried that the operation that brought him back earlier will be something I will regret later. Of course, if they continue to win …
Update of results: 7:21, second quarter – 21:28
Celtics 39, Series 27
Thurston: Nicole mentioned that the Celtics must keep their feet on the gas. She’s right – they let the Heat hang around.
Young: Kyle Lowry doesn’t look great in this – he toasts in defense and misses all five shots – so Eric Spoelstra may consider giving Gabe Vincent more minutes. Lowry, who is still battling a nasty hamstring injury, was horrified in Games 4 and 5, but returned closer to his peak form in Game 6.
fin: The Celtics are content with mediocre 3s. Even the one that Jaylan did a few minutes ago to make 37-22 was not a great idea.
Young: Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo combined 9 of 15 from the field (60 percent) for 22 points. The rest of the Heat is 1 out of 13. That won’t reduce it, especially when Miami is already down by 12.
fin: I would watch an alternate show where just Name was consistently inspiring and cursing his team.
Grant has three fouls – 21:25
Young: Grant Williams has just taken his third personal foul with the remaining 9:06 in the second quarter, and Miami will be in the bonus for the rest of the quarter. The Heat do not execute their free throws (5 of 9), but reach the line …
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