Jimmy Butler Named MVP
By Andrew Rosario
It had never happened in 150 previous series. No team had come back after losing the first 3 games of a playoff series. So, the Miami Heat were in the driver’s seat after winning the first two games on their home court. They would win game 3 in Boston and a sweep looked inevitable. Boston rebounded winning game four sending the series back to South Beach. The Celtics kept their season alive winning games 5 and 6 looking to make history on their home court in game 7. It would not happen.
Jimmy Butler continued his stellar post season scoring 28 points in the 103-84 victory sending them to the NBA Finals. Butler was named MVP of the series. His teammate, Caleb Martin, added 26 points and 10 rebounds. Said Butler after the game, “we stayed together as a group. As a team, we talked about going and getting a tough one on the road. We did just that but we’re not satisfied. We’re excited. We’re happy. But we’ve got one more to get.”
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
Boston’s Jayson Tatum turned his ankle on his first play of the game and struggled the rest of the game, scoring only 14 points. Said Tatum on how the injury effected his play, “It swelled up and it was just frustrating that I was kind of a shell of myself. It was tough to move. It was just frustrating, especially that it happened on the first play.”
Miami outscored Boston in 3 of the 4 quarters putting the game away in the fourth quarter (27-18) as the sold-out crowd made their way to the exit when the lead was extended to 83-66.
The Miami Heat became the second #8 seed to make it to the Finals since the New York Knicks lost to the San Antonio Spurs in 1999. They face the Denver Nuggets Thursday night.
The New York Beacon likes the Nuggets to win their first championship in franchise history in 5 games.
