HEAT REACHES EASTERN FINALS
Butler and defense keep the Heat’s dream alive
The Philadelphia 76ers were desperate and home Thursday night, must-win in the literal sense, the great James Harden in hero mode and wounded superstar Joel Embiid in a black mask. He’d said “What do I have to do?” this week when passed over, again, for the NBA’s MVP award.
The shortest answer might be: Lead Philly to a championship.
The Heat said no.
Miami took Game 6 on the road and did it with force, 99-90, for a 4-2 triumph in this Eastern Conference semifinal series, and the Heat now awaits the survivor of the MilwaukeeBoston series in the next round.
Credit 76ers coach Doc Rivers for plainspeak after the loss: “I came to the conclusion at the end of the game,” he said, “that we were just not good enough to beat Miami.”
Look ahead in a minute, Heat fans. For now, appreciate this.
This franchise has given you Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Bosh and the Heat Culture embodied in Udonis Haslem’s heart and scowl. It has given you Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra and three championship parades down Biscayne Boulevard.
Now it has given you Jimmy Butler, who in this postseason has certifiably verified to any few doubters left that he belongs in the upper echelon when Heat legend and lore are discussed.
Butler scored 32 Thursday in yet
For the second time in Jimmy Butler’s three years in Miami, the Heat is headed to a conference finals.
And fittingly, it was a concoction of Butler’s brilliance, suffocating defense and a Heat developmental success story at the epicenter of this series-clinching 99-90 win in Philadelphia.
No team does better work finding and nurturing undrafted, overlooked players, and one of them, Max Strus, helped spearhead this closeout victory with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists.
With Butler scoring 32 and the Heat at the height of its game defensively, Miami closed out the 76ers in six games despite playing again without injured Kyle Lowry.
The Heat will play Boston or Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference Finals, with Game 1 set for either 3:30 p.m. Sunday or Tuesday evening at FTX Arena. The Bucks lead the Celtics 3-2 in their conference semifinal series.
“We have been doing this 27 years since Pat [Riley] came back to South Florida, nine [conference finals],” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It’s not easy in this league. And I wanted everyone in the locker room to acknowledge that. It’s not everything, but it’s something.”
This will be the Heat’s ninth conference finals; Miami has made the NBA Finals in its past five trips to that round.
Spoelstra said the Heat, in the third, was “trying to wear on them, do what we do. We have competitors who respond to this type of environment.”
The difference Thursday was a maniacal, defensively dominant 19-4 run to open the third. Butler scored 12 points in that third-quarter spurt, stretching a one-point Heat halftime lead to 68-52.
The Heat began the third making 8 of 12 shots, while the 76ers opened the quarter 2 for 16.
The Heat began the third quarter on a 19-4 run and the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run and eliminated Philadelphia in Game 6. Miami will face either Milwaukee or Boston next.