The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics played one of the most interesting Eastern Conference Final Game 7's in NBA history on Sunday night. The Celtics won 100-96 in a game that came down to the final seconds.
In a game that the Heat literally never led, it felt like they were going to win for much of the game. That sounds counterintuitive, but if you ask both Heat and Celtics fans, I firmly believe that's what both were feeling.
The Celtics jumped out to an early 17-point lead. The Heat closed the half and cut the deficit to just six. During a back-and-forth third quarter, Max Strus hit a step-back three pointer. However, after a few plays had occurred, the referees later determined that Strus had stepped out of bounds. The nine-point deficit was suddenly 12 and then the Celtics hit another bucket, to make it 14.
But there is still some question as to whether he actually stepped out of bounds.
Did Strus’ heel touch out of bounds or was it too close to change the call? https://t.co/QbdO2XIy7N
— SB Nation (@SBNation) May 30, 2022
Clearly, his heel is at the very least hanging over the white line. The question is, did the heel actually ever come down to the ground. There is no way to be certain.
The reverse angle of his heel would be required to know for sure, one way or the other. But one thing that is certain is that was a massive call.
The Celtics ended up holding a 13-point lead with about three minutes remaining. Yet, Miami refused to go away. They hit some big shots. Boston had some truly unbelievably terrible offensive possessions. All of that led to Miami on the fast break in the closing seconds of the game trailing by two points.
Jimmy Butler, instead of attacking the rim, pulled up for what would have been a game-winning three point shot. His shot came up short, and Boston pulled down the rebound. Marcus Smart hit both free throws, essentially ending the game. Some have been critiquing the Heat superstar's decision to pull up for the triple. After all, he had played all 48 minutes and his legs must have been tired (which is probably why the short came up short).
Then again, he scored almost half the team's points again. Butler did everything he could to propel the Heat to the NBA Finals. It seems pretty clear after this series that Miami needs more players that can create their own shot.
Outside of Butler and Bam Adebayo, the rest of the Heat players shot 10-for-43. That was just an isolated incident either. Butler essentially won Game 6 by himself, dropping 47 points.
Nevertheless, outside of the Butler three-p0inter, the Strus negated shot is the play that arguably forever changed the Heat's playoff destiny.
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