Celtics

Brown fouled out of Friday's 111-103 loss to the Heat in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals after recording 20 points (6-13 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 7-9 FT), ...

- Celtics' Jaylen Brown: Plays well in losing effort - Celtics' Jaylen Brown: All-around effort in Game 6 win Brown reached the 20-point mark for the fifth time in the series, but he fouled out and the Celtics certainly missed him down the stretch.

The Celtics are actually slight favorites. Jayson Tatum and Jimmy Butler are the favorites to win the Larry Bird MVP. Matthew J Lee/Globe staff). By Conor ...

In five career Game 7s, Brown’s averaged 12.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. Looking at player props, Jayson Tatum’s lines are set at 28.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists on DraftKings. Tatum’s averaging 24.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists through the first six games of the series. Brown’s a distant third at +1000. After that, the odds take a very steep drop. He’s played in just two Game 7s over his 11-year career, averaging 12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in those games. Jaylen Brown’s lines are a bit lower than Tatum’s and Butler’s. DraftKings has Brown’s lines set at 24.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. After his dominant Game 6 performance, Jimmy Butler’s lines for Game 7 are set at 28.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. Brown’s averaged 24.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists so far in the conference final. There are a couple of positives though for the Celtics in looking at the historical trends. The under in Game 7 has fared well in recent years, going 34-22 since 2005, via Ewing. The Celtics’ trends from this postseason are in their favor. A road team being the favorite in Game 7s is quite rare. Not only have the Celtics handled their business on the road during the playoffs, but they’ve also been quite dominant throughout the season.

It's win-or-go-home for the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, who meet in South Beach for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Tatum has averaged 5.8 dimes these playoffs, and we like him to go over this mark in a must-win game. The only time this number wasn’t surpassed was in Games 4 and 5, when the Heat were anemic from beyond the arc. Tatum over 5.5 assists (+110): Tatum’s scoring ability is elite, but other facets of his game can often go unnoticed. Win-or-go-home games are typically known for tight defence with little scoring opportunity, but we’re going to fade that idea and roll with the over. The pregame narrative: It’ll be just the third Game 7 of the NBA Playoffs, and Boston should be kicking itself for not finishing the job at home. They may be on the road, but the Celtics have actually been stronger away from home.

MIAMI -- — Erik Spoelstra didn't even have to finish the sentence. The Miami Heat coach was speaking in the locker room after a season-extending win in ...

Miami has two players who have scored at least 30 points in a Game 7. “We’ve just got to come out and play, come out and respond,” Brown said. “There’s nothing like a Game 7,” Spoelstra said. We’ve got to come out and find a way to win.” This is their fifth trip to the East finals since, and Friday’s loss made them 0-5 in potential East clinchers over that span. It’s living in the moment, trying to just do what you can.” “For us, it’s just another opportunity,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said Saturday. “You put yourself in this position, going up 3-2, to have two games to win one. For Boston, Marcus Smart’s ankle has been balky, Robert Williams III’s knee is an ongoing question and Jaylen Brown banged a knee on a drive in Game 5 though finished the game with no obvious ill effects. Butler has been dealing with knee issues and twisted an ankle late in Game 6 though still came through with arguably the best game of his career. Miami has the home-court advantage for the finale, though home court has meant nothing in this series. “I’m sure they got a bunch of guys, too, just trying to figure it out and give what they can. MIAMI -- — Erik Spoelstra didn’t even have to finish the sentence.

Jimmy Butler had 47 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the Miami Heat forced the Eastern Conference finals to a decisive seventh game by beating ...

Jayson Tatum had 30 points and nine rebounds for Boston, and White came off the bench to score 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. Elgin Baylor had 61 against Boston in Game 5 of the 1962 finals. Jaylen Brown scored 20 points for Boston, missing a pair of free throws with the game tied at 99 after Lowry fouled out. Celtics: Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, who was inducted into the ballclub’s Hall of Fame on Thursday night, was courtside. “He came out from the jump and kind of put his imprint on the game," White said. Miami guard Tyler Herro missed his third straight game with a strained groin, costing the team its No. 2 scorer. Lowry answered with a 3 and then added two free throws as Miami scored 11 of the next 13 points. Lowry finished with 18 points and 10 assists before fouling out with 2:18 left. I’ve played with some great players, and he’s one of the best.” Warriors forward Draymond Green said afterward that he expected to play the Celtics. “This is the way it should be, with these two teams. Stream 250+ marquee NBA matchups from around the league, including over 40 Raptors games.

There's been four road wins already in this series. Will the Celtics make it five and reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011?

Bam Adebayo had another quiet offensive game on Friday night scoring just 12 points. ESPN's Lisa Salters will be the broadcast's sideline reporter. Yes, Jimmy has been hampered by knee soreness the past four games, but in Game 6 he almost single-handedly willed his team to victory. He finished with 18 points and 10 assists, hitting some key shots along the way. "They give me that confidence to go out there and play basketball the right way and just hoop. Point guard Kyle Lowry had zero points in that game.

Jimmy Butler had 47 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the Miami Heat forced the Eastern Conference finals to a decisive seventh game by beating ...

Boston's Jaylen Brown scored 20 points, missing a pair of free throws with the game tied at 99 after Lowry fouled out. Kyle Lowry answered with a 3 and then added two free throws as Miami scored 11 of the next 13 points. Butler made 16 of 29 shots, hitting 4 of 8 from 3-point range and all 11 free throws.

Both teams' benches are looking more like infirmaries. Jayson Tatum is dinged-up, Marcus Smart and Robert Williams have missed games and nearly half of Miami's ...

Honestly, I like the over up to about 202, if it moves. I like the OVER there. I like Miami (+8.5) to cover in a loss. Coming into a must-win Game 6, the Heat have upgraded Tyler Herro to questionable, where he’ll join Kyle Lowry, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and P.J. Tucker, all of whom played in Game 5. It’s been about more than Herro, with Jimmy Butler struggling from the floor and Bam Adebayo struggling to figure out how to be effective against a Celtics interior defence that seems perfectly built to deal with his unique strengths. It’s been a war of attrition, one that Miami is losing.

Celtics head coach Ime Udoka says Boston must get off to a faster start against the Miami Heat and cannot 'give them life early' in Game 7 on Sunday.

It would be hard to have imagined a scenario four months ago where the Celtics would be playing now -- let alone playing in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. We have confidence in going down there winning, too, but we have to get ourselves off to better starts, get ourselves easy baskets and not give them life early in the game." But at the same time, they are our scorers, they're our leading scorers, and obviously in the fourth quarter, we need them to bring it home. "Obviously, early in the game if they're going after them, we encourage them to get off the ball and the defense will kind of break down and open up for them later in the game," Udoka said. After again committing several careless turnovers in the opening moments of Game 6 and falling into a 12-5 hole, they essentially spent the game attempting to dig themselves out of it. Even in these playoffs, it hasn't been easy ... a lot of that is due to what we're doing, and we can be better, for sure.

The Miami Heat were down to their last chance as they traveled to face the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals.

The NBA needs to get the “bench closeout” under control. The NBA has rules against bench players standing too close to the floor. The Heat had to try to gain every edge possible to win in Boston and force a Game 7, and apparently that went so far as to include having their bench play defense.

The Miami Heat are still alive. After falling behind 3-2 to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, the Heat pulled out an impressive win in ...

In Game 6 they had 17 turnovers that led to 23 points for the Heat. In their Game 3 loss, they had a whopping 24 turnovers and in their Game 1 loss they had 16. Celtics: If they want to advance to the Finals, the Celtics simply have to do a better job of taking care of the ball. Here's everything you need to know about the seventh game between Miami and Boston. In Game 6, the Heat showed a collective ability to bounce back, as did several key contributors on their roster. After scoring 27 total points in Games 3, 4 and 5, Jimmy Butler willed the Heat to victory with a playoff career-high 47 points in Game 6. The Miami Heat are still alive.

Boston Celtics vs. Miami HEAT Sunday, May 29 @ 8:30 PM Series Record: 3-3.

A huge portion of the game was decided by the HEAT winning the turnover battle, 23-8, and taking 22 more shots than their opponent, but this was a battle of the mind more than anything. The HEAT ramped up the physicality on defense, found just enough shotmaking – Max Strus and Adebayo each hit a massive jumper after Boston closed to within one – and responded to one momentum-building one after another. Instead what we’re getting is a series where both defenses have indeed been great, but each game has seen one team lead by at least 20 – Boston’s near-comeback in Game 3 was the only real pushback we’ve seen from a big hole – because as soon as one defense gets rolling then the other team starts to struggle even more having to attack in the halfcourt, and the more that team misses the more the other side can try to push the pace. In other words, precisely because the defense is so good and both teams have some inherent struggles in the halfcourt, we’re more likely than usual to see one run get extended as the other side is pushed more and more onto their heels. And in the end, that opening salvo offered a large enough lead to put Miami up 2-1 in the series. In winning the opening period, 39-18, the HEAT had just about as immaculate a start to a postseason game as you can possibly have. Both teams are going to come out of this one with plenty to like – Boston wound up winning three of the four quarters – and if you came into this game expecting a long series there wasn’t much on hand to dissuade you of that notion. With Kyle Lowry back, his effect on the pace of the offense, both in the open floor and in the halfcourt, was immediately evident as he pushed into a trail three for Max Strus and followed that up a few possessions later with his traditional hit-ahead pass to Jimmy Butler. But apart from Lowry and some hot three-point shooting, the real boost to the offense was Bam Adebayo scoring about as well as he has ever scored. And as usual – after Boston made a run with Butler off the court – he was there to bring it home down the stretch as he hunted the Payton Pritchard matchup relentlessly, holding the Celtics off with free-throws and jumpers. Boston was up by as much as they were up – 34 at the largest lead, but consistently over after their major runs – because they were hitting just about everything. Just as quick as Game 1 turned after the break when the HEAT rediscovered their own identity playing physical and precise defense and letting that effort power their offense, this time Boston was the team finding itself. He wasn’t alone in doing so, but there’s a level of pressure that Butler can apply to your offense that makes every pass carry just a little more inherent risk to it – an effect that played a major role as the HEAT’s defense fed their offense over and over and over again in the third quarter.

The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics have updated their injury reports for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals as of 11:30 Eastern Time.

- SHOULD THE BUCKS MAKE A TRADE? On Sunday afternoon, the Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 7 to the Boston Celtics, which officially ends their 2021-22 NBA season in the second-round. The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics are facing off for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday night in Florida, and for the game the two teams have updated their injury reports as of 11:30 P.M. Eastern Time. In 2020, the two teams faced off in the Conference Finals and the Heat won the series, but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals for the title.