Staff Reporter.
Derrick White scored a dramatic buzzer-beater as the Boston Celtics continued their remarkable fightback from 3-0 down to level the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Miami Heat.
With the Celtics trailing 103-102, Marcus Smart’s last-gasp three-point attempt bounced off the rim but White tipped it in moments before the buzzer.
No NBA team has come from 3-0 down to win a best-of-seven play-off series.
The decisive final game takes place on Monday (01:30 BST Tuesday) in Boston.
The winners will face the Denver Nuggets in the finals, which start on Thursday (01:30 BST Friday).
Although the Celtics led for most of the contest at the Kaseya Center in Florida, the Heat looked to have secured the win – and the series – after Jimmy Butler was fouled by Al Horford when attempting a three-pointer with three seconds remaining.
Butler kept his cool to sink all three free throws and give Miami a one-point lead before White’s late intervention.
“Ball came to me, I made the shot. That’s what I saw,” said White.
“It felt good. Everybody was asking me, ‘did you get it off?’ And I was like, ‘yeah, I think so,’ but it was so close, you never know.
“I’m happy we won. Whatever it takes. We got our backs against the wall.”
With the winning bucket, White became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1989 for the Chicago Bulls to score a game-winning play with his team on the verge of being eliminated. Jordan scored the winning basket against the Cleveland Cavalliers with his famous ‘The Shot’ at the buzzer to secure a place in the next round of the playoffs.
Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and made 11 rebounds and five assists for the Celtics with, while Jaylen Brown ended with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
“It gives you a supreme boost in confidence,” said Brown. “It doesn’t get too much worse than being down 0-3. We feel like we’ve been to hell and back.
“We feel like we can face any adversity that gets thrown at us in the duration of the game or the duration of the season or in the post-season.
“It all means nothing if we don’t come out and give our best effort on our home floor on Monday.”
The Celtics have a chance to make history and become the first team in NBA history to recover from 3-0 down to win a playoff series. Whoever wins the series will face the Nuggets in Game One of the Finals which starts on Thursday.