A shot at NBA glory is up next

This hasn’t, by any means, been a direct path, nothing like during those Big Three years of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

This time, the journey was complex for the Miami Heat, including a four-month NBA shutdown due to a pandemic and a major midseason reshuffling of the mix.

But here they are, back in the NBA Finals, a team not quite with the superstar pedigree as the previous five Heat renditions that made it to the league’s championship round, but one with the grit and drive necessarily to thrive in basketball in a bubble.

Next up? LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, starting Wednesday at 9 p.m. in the league’s best-of-seven championship round.

In the rearview mirror? The Boston Celtics eliminated in six games in the Eastern Conference finals 125-113 Sunday night at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex.

No, this isn’t quite the star appeal of the Lakers with James and Anthony Davis, nor it is what the Heat arrived with for previous Finals visits, with Shaquille O’Neal, Wade, Bosh and James.

But it assuredly is a team cocky enough to believe another upset is possible, after emerging from the No. 5 seed in the East, with series victories over the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks and Celtics.

So what was remade at the February NBA trading deadline with the additions of Andre Iguodala, Jay Crowder and Solomon Hill and then put on hold on March 11 due to the new coronavirus pandemic, now is about to be featured on the league’s grandest stage.

Five degrees of Heat from Sunday night’s game:

1. Closing time: After going down six earlier in the fourth quarter, the Heat got a 3-point play from Adebayo with 6:16 to play to go up 101-100.

The counterpunching continued from there, with Celtics center Daniel Theis fouling out with 5:30 to play and the Heat then calling time up 104-102. A minute later, a Duncan Robinson 3-pointer put the Heat up 107-102.

The Heat eventually made it a 26-6 run, for a 14-point lead. At one point, the Celtics went 3 1⁄ minutes without a point.

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By then, it was time for the white flag from the Celtics.

2. Statement time: Having put Friday’s Game 5 loss on his shoulders, Adebayo was up to 16 points by the intermission, going 5 of 6 from the field and 6 of 6 from the line over the opening two periods.

Unlike previous games when he prioritized being a facilitator, Adebayo did not have an assist at the intermission.

Before the game, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said it should be taken as a sign of respect the way the Celtics kept changing their defensive looks against Adebayo.

“He’s earned it,” Spoelstra said. “That’s what all the great players have to go through, different schemes, different matchups, game plans against you. They know how important he is, and like I said before, he’s an elite competitor, and he’s as impactful as anyone in this Association.”

3. Iguodala time: After an uneven ride to this point, Iguodala turned this into a statement game, making his first five shots, including his first four 3-pointers.

Iguodala’s fourth 3-pointer put the Heat up

82-74 with 4:19 to play in the third quarter, leading to a Celtics timeout. His third 3-pointer already was a single-game high this season.

“He’s got such a championship pedigree,” Spoelstra said in his televised interview at the end of the third quarter.

Spoelstra said such moments were why the Heat made sure to surround the team’s youth with a veteran component.

“It definitely helps,” he said, “and that’s why we acquired the veteran players that we did, because our young players were going to have big roles on this team and we wanted to make it about now.”

4. Tight knit: Spoelstra again stayed with a tight rotation, with Herro and Iguodala the only primary reserves, with brief minutes for Hill.

That had Kelly Olynyk, Kendrick Nunn and Derrick Jones Jr., all previous playoff contributors, out of the mix.

5. Finding range: The Heat missed their first four 3-pointers to continue their misery from beyond the arc. Crowder then made a three with 5:53 left in the opening period to end the shutout, with the Heat making five in a row after missing their first four.

Crowder’s conversion pushed him past Vince Carter on the 3-pointer alltime career playoff list.

The Heat stood 6 of 14 on 3-pointers at halftime, the Celtics 11 of 23.

Of his team’s 3-point defense against the Heat, Celtics coach Brad Stevens said pregame, “All we’re trying to do is make it as hard as possible. And again, it’s easier said than done.”