Derrick White strikes at buzzer, Boston Celtics force Game 7 against Miami Heat

MIAMI – The Boston Celtics were three seconds away from being eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals when Derrick White inbounded the ball to Marcus Smart.

Instead of being a spectator, White darted towards the left corner “like a flash of lightning” and with no Miami Heat players around him, headed towards the basket as Smart’s shot went in and out. His instincts put him in perfect position to score on a tip-in just before the buzzer sounded as Boston recorded an unlikely 104-103 victory.

“That felt like the longest 10 seconds ever waiting for confirmation if he made it or not,” said Boston’s star forward Jayson Tatum.

His teammate Jaylen Brown added: “Derrick White, like a flash of lightning, just came out of nowhere and saved the day, man. An incredible play.”

This was only the second time in National Basketball Association (NBA) history that a buzzer-beater occurred with a team facing a play-off exit. The other instance was Michael Jordan’s famed “The Shot” in 1989, which helped his Chicago Bulls get past the Cleveland Cavaliers in a first-round series.

“It doesn’t do no good to stand in the corner there whether he makes it or not,” White said. “So I was just crashing the glass and it came right to me.”

White’s dramatic basket gave second seeds Boston their third straight victory to become just the fourth team in NBA history to force a Game 7 after losing the first three games of a play-off series.

The victory came after Boston blew a 10-point lead with under five minutes remaining. But White’s heroics earned the Celtics a home game against the Heat on Monday as the team improved to 5-0 in elimination games this post-season. White said: “Whatever it takes. Our backs are against the wall. I’m just happy we won.”

The decisive bucket came after Jimmy Butler made three throws with three seconds left to give the Heat a one-point edge.

Jayson Tatum registered 31 points, 12 rebounds and five assists and Jaylen Brown added 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics. Smart scored 21 points, White had 11 and Robert Williams III added 10.

Butler experienced a horrendous five-of-21 shooting night but scored 15 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter.

He said: “Everything that happened tonight, if I don’t go five-for-21 and turn the ball over and all of this good stuff, it’s a different story. I’ve got on a different hat up here and we’re getting ready to go to the Finals.”

Butler scored 13 of his points during the 15-4 burst that put Miami in the lead. He was looking for the last shot and was fouled by Al Horford with three seconds left.

The call was reviewed, and Butler was ruled to be behind the three-point line and was granted three free throws and he made them all.

Then White made the winning basket and the celebration that Heat fans were expecting never happened.

“That’s the only place it could have bounced,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said of the outcome. “I thought we had a lot of things covered on that play.

“But sometimes things don’t break your way. I don’t think there are any regrets on that. This is the way this season has been. This is one hell of a series.”

Butler also had 11 rebounds and eight assists. Caleb Martin recorded 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Heat.

Miami’s Gabe Vincent had 15 points, Duncan Robinson added 13, Bam Adebayo contributed 11 points and 13 rebounds and Max Strus had 10 points.

Boston barely looked interested in continuing the series while being whipped 128-102 in Game 3 by the eighth seeds before staging the impressive recovery.

“It doesn’t get too much worse than being down 0-3. We feel like we’ve been to hell and back,” said Brown.

Tatum added: “I’ve never been so excited to go back to Boston in my life.” REUTERS, AFP