The Miami Heat once looked destined to easily cruise to the NBA Finals, leading the series 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics. They are now on the verge of a historic postseason collapse after an unbelievable game-winning shot by Celtics guard Derrick White saved their season in Game 6 Saturday night.
It looked like Miami was finally going to put away the Celtics late in the fourth quarter. Heat star Jimmy Butler got fouled on a three-point attempt with just 2.1 seconds remaining.
With all the pressure on his shoulders, he would make all three of his free throw attempts to take a one-point lead.
This created a scenario where the Celtics would have one shot to potentially force a Game 7. That is at least what Heat fans were hoping.
Celtics guard Marcus Smart took the final shot, and it nearly went in before rimming out. However, Derrick White was there to save the day with a putback layup to win the game as time expired.
It wasn’t clear initially whether White had gotten the shot off before the buzzer. They took a look at the replay of the shot, which showed that it was out of his hand with 0.1 seconds on the clock.
Many around the NBA world took to social media quickly to discuss the chaotic finish.
This win puts the Celtics in rare territory, becoming the fourth team to force a Game 7 after trailing a playoff series 3-0. All three teams before them lost in those games, with the most recent coming in 2003.
The Celtics have become accustomed to having their backs up against the wall. That will no longer be the case, heading to a Game 7 in TD Garden on Monday night with all of the momentum on their side.
[Awful Announcing on Twitter] Photo Credit: TNT
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.