2012-06-09 09:18:53
It doesn't get much bigger than that on the NBA landscape and it will take
place on Saturday in South Florida when the Miami Heat host the Boston Celtics
in the deciding game of the Eastern Conference finals.
The winner of tonight's contest will move on to the NBA Finals and a date
with Kevin Durant and the Thunder, starting June 12 in Oklahoma City.
LeBron James, of course, is fresh off his brilliant 45-point, 15-rebound,
five-assist performance as the Heat staved off elimination with a 98-79 win in
Game 6.
It's hard to imagine James duplicating his performance from Game 6 but did
offer up one vow that might have sent chills up the collective spines of the
Celtics.
'I won't regret Game 7,' the superstar said. 'Win, lose or draw, I'm going to
go in with the mindset like I've had this whole season.'
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra thinks both clubs will be ready but is happy his
has home-court advantage.
'We feel good that we earned the right to play Game 7 at home,' Spoelstra said
at Saturday morning's shootaround. 'The guys are looking forward to playing in
front of our fans.'
Celtics coach Doc Rivers, meanwhile, knows all the tricks of the trade and
told his team to pack for a weeklong trip, anticipating a trek to OKC for The
Finals.
'We have another opportunity,' Rivers said. 'We get to play another game, Game
7. I would say most of the people in this room would have said, 'Wow, they're
going to get to Game 7, we'll take it.' That's the way we have to view it.'
With Miami facing elimination on Thursday, a stone-faced James carried the
load. The three-time MVP shot a sensational 19-of-26 from the field and never
saw the bench until Spoelstra decided a 22-point lead with a little over three
minutes remaining was enough breathing room to give his superstar a rest.
'He was absolutely fearless tonight, and it was contagious,' Spoelstra said of
James. 'He is arguably the most skilled player in this league and he was
able to showcase a lot of that tonight. We needed every bit of it.'
Dwyane Wade chipped in 17 points and eight boards for Miami, which had lost
three straight in the series after taking the first two meetings. Chris Bosh,
in just his second game back since returning from a strained abdominal muscle,
played a little over 28 minutes and logged seven points, six rebounds and
three blocks.
The Celtics shot just 1-of-14 from three-point range, and their leading
scorer, Paul Pierce, was held to nine points on a porous 4-of-18 performance
from the field.
Rajon Rondo scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half and added 10 assists,
while Brandon Bass and Kevin Garnett each netted 12 points in the one-sided
setback.
James started his onslaught after the midway point of the first quarter when
he capped a 10-0 run with a three-point play and three-pointer on consecutive
possessions. The burst put the Heat in front, 22-12.
'I was aggressive from the opening tip. I went out and played as hard as I
could,' James said. 'I just tried to make plays and give our team a chance to
win, and I think I did that tonight.'
Miami led 26-16 after the opening frame, and James mirrored his first 12
minutes with a 6-for-7 shooting effort in the second. The league MVP scored in
a variety of ways in his 16-point outburst, hitting mid-range jumpers,
finishing off low-post moves and adding a signature putback dunk late in the
quarter.
Two Wade free throws gave the visitors a 55-42 cushion at the break, and it
was a double-digit game the entire second half.
James missed more shots from the foul line (four) than he did from the field
(two) in the first half. He went 5-of-9 from the stripe and 12-of-14 from the
field.
'[James] was absolutely sensational. He made every shot and set the tone for
their team,' admitted Rivers. 'He made a lot of tough [shots], but I still
don't think we guarded him with enough force.'
In the closing minutes of the third, the Celtics had several opportunities to
pull within single digits, but Pierce misfired badly on an open three-pointer
and Garnett was off the mark on an alley-oop.
James fittingly followed up the misses with a jumper, giving the visitors a
74-61 advantage heading to the fourth. Wade scored on Miami's first two
possessions of the final frame and netted four more points during an 8-0 run a
little later that essentially put the game away.
Tonight's contest will be the 111th Game 7 in NBA history with home teams
owning an 88-22 advantage. No franchise has played in more Game 7s than
Boston, which is an impressive 21-7 all-time. The Heat, on the other hand, are
2-3 all-time in Game 7s and dropped the last Game 7 in the East finals, an
88-82 setback to Detroit in 2005.
This is the third straight season that the Heat and Celtics are meeting in the
playoffs. Boston won in five games in 2010 in the first round and the Heat
won in five last year in the semifinals.