The Boston Celtics on Saturday were one-tenth of a second away from elimination. The Miami Heat were one-tenth of a second from the NBA Finals. Derrick White owned that final moment.
White scored on a putback as time expired and the Celtics moved to the brink of the greatest comeback in NBA Playoffs history, holding off the Heat 104-103 to force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
“Derrick White, like a flash of lightning, just came out of nowhere and saved the day, man,” the Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown said. “An incredible play.”
Photo: AFP
White knew it was good. Referees reviewed it, but it did not take long to give the official word.
Elation for Boston. Devastation for Miami.
“Ball came to me,” White said. “I made the shot.”
Perhaps Boston will call it “The Shot.”
White became the second player in NBA history to hit a buzzer-beater with his team trailing and facing elimination. Michael Jordan’s “The Shot” for the Chicago Bulls against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1989 being the other.
“I was just happy,” White said. “Season was on the line. We don’t want to go home.”
Jayson Tatum scored 31 points, Brown scored 26 and Marcus Smart added 21 for the Celtics, who became only the fourth NBA team to erase a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series and force a deciding game.
The others in that club — the 1951 New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, the 1994 Denver Nuggets in the second round and the 2003 Portland Trail Blazers in the first round — all lost Game 7, all on the road.
However, Boston is going home for its shot at history. Game 7 is tonight on the Celtics’ floor, a matchup that would decide who meets the Western Conference champion Denver Nuggets in a title series that is to start on Thursday.
“It’s a seven-game series,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “There’s nothing better than Game 7s.”
Jimmy Butler made three free throws with 3 seconds left — the foul was originally called with 2.1 seconds remaining. Referees put 0.9 seconds back on after reviewing the play to see if it was a three-point try that Al Horford fouled him on — for a one-point Heat lead. It capped a Miami rally from 10 points down with less than 4 minutes remaining.
The Celtics had White inbound the ball on the game’s final possession, and he passed to Smart — who missed a three-pointer — but White sprinted from the inbound spot to the rim, the ball fell into his hands and he got the layin away just before time ran out to extend Boston’s season.
There had been other buzzer-beaters from players whose teams were facing an elimination game, but before Saturday, only Jordan’s came with his team trailing.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was asked what went through his mind at that moment.
“Nothing,” Mazzulla said. “Game 7.”
Two people died on Thursday after fans and police clashed outside the Estadio Monumental in Santiago ahead of a game in South America’s Copa Libertadores, Chilean authorities said. The fatalities happened shortly before the match between Chile’s Colo-Colo and Brazilian club Fortaleza, when police blocked about 100 fans when they attempted to enter the stadium. There were conflicting accounts of how the fatalities occurred, with local media reporting that one of the dead was a 13-year-old boy. The other victim was an 18-year-old woman, according to a relative at the hospital where she was treated. The fans died after being caught underneath a
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
RSS