LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh proved why their called the “big three” on Saturday when they outscored the Boston Celtics 28-15 in the fourth quarter of their Game 7 playoff match, a victory that advances the Miami Heat once again to the NBA’s biggest stage.
The Heat advanced on a strong 31 point showing by LeBron James who also picked up 12 rebounds while Chris Bosh hit the most 3-pointers in a single game of his career. Adding to the teams victory was 23 points from Wade, 19 Bosh and 12 for Shane Battier.
The Miami Heat also managed to break a streak they were happy to leave behind, the team had not won a Game 7 victory in the NBA playoffs since Wade’s rookie season in 2004.
For Boston Rajon Rondon pulled down 22 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds while Paul Pierce added 19 points.
After the Game 7 loss Rondo said of the Heat:
“Give them credit. They spread the points out as a team tonight. Give them credit. They played great tonight as a team and we just came up short.”
Following the match Alonzo Mourning told the heated up Miami crowd, “We still got a lot of work to do” while Heat owner Micky Arison added that it has been a “roller-coaster ride.”
The victory didn’t come easy for the Miami heat who were down by seven at the half before going on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 59-59 on a Wade jumper. By the end of the game there were six lead changes and five ties by the last seven minutes of the third quarter before the fourth quarter started on a 73-73 split.
In the fourth quarter one 13 minute time span witnessed 46 possessions as neither team led by more than two points until Bosh hit a third 3-pointer with 7:17 left and the Miami Heat eventually used that momentum to run away with the lead and ultimately the victory.