LeBron James Leads Heat To Desperation Victory Over Boston To Stay Alive
Thursday night with their backs against the wall and mostly the entire basketball world writing them off including myself, the Miami Heat came out determined and committed to force a decisive game 7. Heading into game 6, Boston had a chance to advance to the NBA Finals for the third time in 5 years but the Heat spoiled their home court celebration. In the opening minutes The Celtics had finally showed fatigue this series just like in game 6 of last round against the 76ers but this time they wouldn’t play a game 7 at home. LeBron would use the lack of Celtics scoring to shoot 6 for 7 scoring 14 points in the first quarter alone, just 2 shy of Boston’s 16 point quarter. By the quarters end the Heat would have a 10 point lead with guard Dwyane Wade not scoring a single point yet. At the start of the 2nd, we would have our first D-Wade sighting of the game as he hit an 11 foot jump shot to begin the quarter. Just past the 10 minute mark in the quarter, Ray Allen would pull his team to within single digits making the only 3 pointer of the game for the Celtics as they finished shooting a horrendous 1 for 14 at 7%. LBJ would continue his dominating first half performance scoring 11 of 13 straight Heat points. He would finish the first half at 30 points shooting 12 for 14 from the field. In the first half Rajon Rondo 19 points but would only score 2 more in the 2nd half. With 7 seconds left before the half, LBJ would miss a 3 pointer but Wade would draw a foul on Celtics big, Brandon Bass after grabbing the rebound. By the third quarter the Heat were up by 13 as LBJ would continue from his first half stats scoring 11 of the Heat’s 19 points again bringing his total up to 41 points before the 4th quarter started. In the 4th quarter, Dwyane Wade would finally wake up from his quiet scoring two back to back jump shots in the opening minute to In the 4th quarter, Dwyane Wade would finally wake up from his quiet scoring two back to back jump shots in the opening minute; then scoring 2 more back to back jumpers at the 8 min. mark. By the 7 minute mark LBJ would put the finishing touches on the game scoring a reserve layup with an assist from D-Wade to put their team up 25. Coach Doc Rivers pulled all of his starters and that was all she wrote.
The MVP, LeBron James finished the game with 45 points, 15 boards and 5 dimes shooting his playoff career best at 73%. This was the most points seen in a playoff game since Dirk Nowitzki’s 48 last year against the OKC Thunder. Dwyane Wade started the game off slow but managed to finish with 17 points and 8 boards on 6 of 17 shooting. Chris Bosh finally got increased playing time at 28 minutes and shot 3-8 scoring 7 points and grabbed 6 boards. Rajon Rondo had a Celtics high of 21 points and 10 dimes but as previously stated he would cool off from his strong first half only scoring 2 points in the entire 2nd half. Paul Pierce presumably had the worst night of his playoff career shooting 4-18 only scoring 9 points, while Kevin Garnett only managed to score 12 points shooting 6 for 14. Miami managed to play their first great game of the series since game 1 with King James on a mission to send this series back home for a game 7. As both teams head to back South Beach for a chance to go to NBA Finals to face the Thunder pending a game 7 victory, the questions are which teams will show up. Will Miami continue their strong play from game 6 led by LBJ and Wade or will they fall back into jumps hooting ways from the previous 3 games prior to game 6. For Boston will they show up and actually hits shots or will they play with the same effort they showed last night visibly looking drained. Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals will be the biggest game of these playoffs so far as both teams will want to grab a ticked to the NBA Finals. This is really good playoff basketball people even if you’re not a fan of either team and just a fan of basketball, I would highly suggest you to tune in after Saturday’s big boxing fight.
Game 7 is scheduled Saturday on ESPN with a tip-off set for 8:30 pm (ET).
Win Or Go Home.
(2) Miami Heat vs. (4) Boston Celtics | Series Tied 3-3
Game 1: Miami 93, Boston 79
Game 2: Miami 115, Boston 111 (OT)
Game 3: Boston 101, Miami 91
Game 4: Boston 93, Miami 91 (OT)
Game 5: Boston 94, Miami 90
Game 6: Miami 98, Boston 79
Game 7: at MIA, Sat. June 9, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonus: Dunk Of The Night: LeBron Flies In