NBA analyst and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley didn’t hold back while discussing the poor play of the Boston Celtics during their loss to the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
‘This is the thing about the Celtics,’ Barkley said to start of his statement. ‘This is one of the most inconsistent, talented teams I’ve ever been around.’ ‘You got two guys who are All-NBA, you got the defensive player of the year. You got the sixth man.
‘And in the past month since the playoffs started you say, what the hell happened against Atlanta, what the hell happened against the Sixers, and then you come out here and get down three-zip with the first two games at home.
As Barkley alluded to the Celtics were blown out by the Heat 103-84. As for the game itself, Jimmy Butler scored 28 points and Caleb Martin had 26 points and 10 rebounds to help the Heat avoid being on the wrong side of history.
‘Then you play two magnificent games, then you play three magnificent quarters then you try to coach Game 6 away…I’m not shocked Miami won the game, I’m shocked they won by 20.’The Heat recovered after blowing a 3-0 lead in the series and advanced to the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons.They will face the Western Conference champion Nuggets, with Game 1 in Denver on Thursday night.
Game 6 hero Derrick White scored 18 for Boston, which was hoping to become the first NBA team ever to advance after falling behind 0-3 in a best-of-seven series. Jaylen Brown scored 19 with eight rebounds but went 1 for 9 from 3-point range.
Bam Adebayo scored 12 points with 10 rebounds for Miami, which is the first No. 8 seed to play for a championship since the 1999 New York Knicks. Top-seeded Denver has been waiting since sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers on May 22.
Jayson Tatum, who scored a Game 7 record 51 points against Philadelphia in the conference semis, had 14 points with 11 rebounds after turning his ankle on the first play of the game and limping through 42 minutes.
The Heat took the first three games two of them in Boston and needed just one more win to reach to the NBA Finals. None of the 150 teams that have opened a 3-0 lead in an NBA playoff series has ever failed to advance.
The Celtics led by five points early before conceding a 14-4 run to end the first quarter and then giving up 16 of the first 22 points in the second. Boston cut the deficit to seven points late in the third, but Miami took a 76-66 lead at the break and scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to pull away.
