NBA Hoops

Boston Celtics fail to close out Miami Heat, but Jayson Tatum puts confidence in Game 7 win at a ’10 out of 10′

Boston Celtics fail to close out Miami Heat, but Jayson Tatum puts confidence in Game 7 win at a '10 out of 10'

BOSTON — More than 15 minutes before Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals tipped off at TD Garden, every seat inside the building was occupied, and every person ticketed to sit in them was standing.

After 12 years of waiting, this crowd — and this city — was ready to return to the NBA Finals. Now, they’ll have to wait another two days — at least.

Thanks to an all-time classic performance from Jimmy Butler, the Boston Celtics saw their dreams of a trip to the league’s championship round vanish, falling 111-103 to the Miami Heat to send this series back to the shores of Biscayne Bay for a seventh and deciding game Sunday night.

“It’s a tough one,” Celtics guard Derrick White said.

That is an understatement.

Boston spent the two days between its Game 5 victory in Miami and Game 6 tipoff talking about the need to come out and play this game like it was a Game 7. Instead, the Celtics came out and — like they have so many times both in this series and in these playoffs — carelessly turned the ball over time and time again, racking up several in the game’s opening minutes.

So, rather than allowing the crowd, which was desperate to get into this game, to take over, Boston gave Miami life. And, for a team that was seeking any reason to have hope after a rough second half in Game 5, it quickly ignited into a full-fledged flame, as Miami jumped out to a 29-22 advantage after one and held the lead for the vast majority of the game.

And, when Boston finally leaped back in front midway through the fourth on a 3-pointer by White — who had 22 points off the bench and, at one point, appeared he could be headed into the annals of Celtics history — with 4 minutes, 43 seconds to go, the Heat responded with a 17-6 run to end the game and send this series back to Miami.

“It’s kind of indicative of how our nights have been in this series when we don’t take care of the ball,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said of Boston’s slow start. “A lot of careless…

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