King James sends Heat to Game 7
Jim Rogash /
GettyImages
LeBron James netted a whopping 45 points as the Miami
Heat forced Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals with a 98-79 win
over Boston Celtics.
With
the series tied at 3-3, the win represents a huge boost for the Heat,
who barely scraped past Game 2 and subsequently lost the next three
games against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.The Heat burst into a 26-16 lead in the first quarter and the Celtics never got close, with James' 30 points by halftime carrying them through to a dominant win and forcing Game 7.
Rajon Rondo topped the scoring charts for Celtics with 21 point and 12 assists and was followed by Brandon Bass and Kevin Garnett with 12 points each, but their combined point tally would still not be able to match James' massive 45 points.
Celtic ultimately lost the game outside, netting only one of their 14 attempts from 3-point range.
The former Cleveland Cavalier also grabbed 15 rebounds and was 12 of 14 in the first half, 19 of 26 from the field overall, but he still fell short of his career-high record of 49 points, which was set against Orlando Magic in 2009.
Dwyane Wade also contributed 17 points for the Heat, while Chris Bosh made his return from a abdominal injury with an appearance from the bench scoring seven points.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra praised James' magnificent performance, telling NBA's official website after the game: "He was absolutely fearless tonight [Thursday], and it was contagious.
"The way he approached the last 48 hours, and not only LeBron, but everybody else. Nobody likes getting dirt thrown on your face before you're even dead. He showed great resolve."
Celtic coach Doc Rivers was visibly desolate in the final quarter, spending part of a timeout standing alone while leaving it to his players to figure out a way to comeback from 81-63 down with 10:19 to play.
However, Rivers was gracious after the match, conceding that James won the tie for the Heat.
"I hope now you guys can stop talking about LeBron and he doesn't play in big games," Rivers said, "He was pretty good tonight. So we can put that to bed and go play Game 7."
Game 7 will now go to Miami, with the winner going on to play Western Conference champions Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night (CET).
0 comments:
Post a Comment