Boston (Archyde.com)
Jason Tatum scored 26 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and provided 6 assists, to help the Boston Celtics win 100-96 over the Miami Heat in the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Final, and reach the NBA Finals.
Marcus Smart added 24 points with nine rebounds, and Jaylen Brown scored 24 points for the Celtics, who reached the league final for the first time since 2010.
Tatum was named the best player in the East End Final.
Jimmy Butler scored 35 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the scoring from the Heat, while Pam Adebayo added 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Butler missed a three-pointer with 16.6 seconds left that might have given the Heat the lead.
The Celtics will meet the Golden State Warriors in the league final, and the first game between them will be held in San Francisco on Thursday.
Boston got rid of a series of failures in five consecutive chances to reach the final of the league.
After trailing the Heat by 17 points in the second quarter, they narrowed the gap, falling 82-79 in the fourth quarter.
But Boston re-expanded the difference to 11 points with 6 minutes and 36 seconds left.
The score was 98-85 with three minutes and 35 seconds left, before a late uprising from Miami reduced the difference to two points before 50.7 seconds.
Miami might have snatched the lead but Butler missed a three-pointer while Smart added two free throws 11.4 seconds ago to seal the victory by four points.
