The glass slipper was gone for a while, but the Cinderella streak continues for the Miami Heat.
The No. 8 seed avoided being on the wrong side of history on Monday night with his 103-84 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Things started badly for Boston from the jump, when Jayson Tatum sprained his ankle on the first possession of the game. He didn’t limit it in minutes, but Miami took advantage of the entire night.
Miami led by as much as 17 in the second quarter, but Boston managed to cut the deficit to seven in the third. After leading 76-66 through three, Miami began the fourth quarter riding 20-7 to lead by 23, the most of the night.
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Caleb Martin #16 of the Miami Heat attempts a three point basket against Derrick White #9 of the Boston Celtics during the third quarter of game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden in Boston. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Miami is now 88-0 when leading a playoff game by at least 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Jimmy Butler lost 28 points, which surprises no one. The spark plug for the Heat was Caleb Martin, who scored 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting and was 4-of-6 from 3.
Neither Celtic scored 20 points during the game and Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for an impressive 13 of 36 from the field.
The second-seeded Celtics became the fourth team in NBA history to force a Game 7 after being down three games to nil, and the first since the 2003 Portland Trail Blazers. Boston, hardly anyone expected the eighth-seeded Heat to get a road win. But unfortunately, it remains that no NBA team has completed the comeback from a 3-0 deficit.
Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) dunks against Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) during the fourth quarter of game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals for the NBA playoffs in 2023 at the TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/USA Today Sports)
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Boston was the first team to host Game 7 after regaining momentum and tying the series after three straight losses, but the Heat also made history by becoming the first No. 8 seed to reach the Finals in a full season of the nba.
The 1998-99 New York Knicks were the No. 8 seed and reached that season’s finals, but that season lasted only 50 games thanks to that year’s lockout. The lowest seed to win the NBA Finals is the 6th seed Houston Rockets from 1994-95. They are also the first play-in team to reach the final.
Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat dribbles during the third quarter against the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 29, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
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The Heat will face the West-seeded Denver Nuggets, who are in their first NBA Finals in franchise history.
The announcement is scheduled for Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in Denver.