The Athletic has live coverage of the Eastern Conference Final Game 7 between the Celtics vs. Heat.
With Game 7 in Boston upon us, the history of what’s at stake is right before our minds. Miami led in the Eastern Conference Finals 3-0, but is now 3-3.
Only three teams had gone 0-3 while losing their first two at home – the 2010 Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics, the 2020 Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Heat and the 2005 Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.
Only Orlando was able to force a Game 6.
There have been 147 Game 7s in NBA history. The home team is 111-36.
Both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals teams are up 3-0 this year. Denver was one of the best teams all season, while Los Angeles had to navigate the Play-In Championship. Mirroring this situation in the East, Miami was also a play team, while Boston was one of the best teams this year, finishing second in both offensive and defensive rankings during the regular season. The Celtics have been the most balanced team in the NBA, so if one team was going to make NBA history, it would be the team.
The Celtics, if they win tonight – and they’re somewhat favored by the odds-makers in Vegas – will be the first team in NBA history to go 0-3 in a best-of-7 series. As Lou Murray noted before Game 6, “When the Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers Monday night to complete their first sweep in franchise history, the record for NBA teams going 3-0 in a series moved to 150-0.”
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No. 2 Celtics vs. No. 8 Heat
8:30 p.m. ET on TNT
What are the odds for a Celtics vs. Heat match?
The series is tied 3-3
In the first five games of this series, the team that made more three-pointers, had more steals and handled the ball won. The only “inconsistency” was in Game 2, when Miami made just nine 3-pointers to Boston’s 10.
In Game 6, however, Miami made 14 three-pointers compared to Boston’s seven, five steals compared to four, and only five turnovers to 12. Shooting 35.5 percent from the field probably didn’t help matters.
During the regular season, Boston had five at least four-game winning streaks, two with nine games and one with five. Miami had lost two sets of four games.
Mr. Momentum is clearly on Boston’s side, but Mr. Momentum is fickle and could jump to the other seat at any moment. Still, it’s going to be tough trying to get him away from Boston because the Celtics will no doubt get a boost of energy from the rowdy crowd, they feel good about themselves and they’re the better team.
However, anything can happen in a single game.
Expert Picks Celtics vs. Heat
Related reading
How Al Horford’s golf outing helped get the Celtics back for the ages
The Celtics’ buzzer beater was a sweet thing. Game 7 will be too, with stars and starry eyes
(Photo by Jason Tatum: Jesse D. Garrapant/NBAE via Getty Images)