The Miami Heat came out in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals and laid the wood on the Boston Celtics, ending Boston’s shot at becoming the first NBA team to come back from an 0-3 series deficit.
Boston was ice-cold from the three-point line, shooting 4-21 from beyond the arc in the first half and ending the game 9-42.
From left to right, Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal announce the game between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat during Game 6 of the 2023 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals on May 27, 2023 at Kaseya Center in Miami. (Eric Espada/NBAE via Getty Images)
They entered halftime down 52-41, and Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley was already tired of watching Boston play.
NO. 8 SEED MIAMI ADVANCES TO NBA FINALS, AVOIDS BEING ON WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY AGAINST CELTICS
“Watching these dumba– Celtics play is making my head hurt,” Barkley said on TNT’s halftime show.
“I can’t let it go, man, because if you just come to the game and say, ‘We’re just going to jack up three’s and if we win, we going to win, and if we miss them we’re going to lose,’” he continued.
“It’s so bad to watch them play. There’s no ball movement,” Barkley added. “There’s no body movement. It’s just frustrating watching a team with this much talent just play stupid.”
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In the last two games of the series, Boston shot just 16 of 77 from the three-point line after finishing second in the NBA in three-pointers made per game during the regular season.
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The Celtics fell behind by as much as 23 points before losing 103-84 as Miami earned its second trip to the NBA Finals in four seasons.
Jayson Tatum, #0 of the Boston Celtics, after twisting his ankle during the first quarter of Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat at the TD Garden on Monday in Boston May 29, 2023 ( Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
“We got punked,” Celtics forward Grant Williams told ESPN. “We didn’t play our game from start to finish. Defensively, we just lost it all. And then offensively, we were scrambled and trying to do everything ourselves and just didn’t go our way.
“You hate to have that be the end of your season, especially with the fight that we’ve shown.”
It was a tumultuous year for the Celtics, who found themselves with their third coach in three years after Ime Udoka was suspended for the 2022-23 season for “violations of team policies.”
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The Boston Celtics starters sit on the bench as they lose 103-84 during Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat at the TD Garden on Monday in Boston May 29, 2023. (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
Joe Mazzulla was named the interim coach before having the interim tag removed in February.
Boston needed six games to defeat the Atlanta Hawks in the first round before coming back from a 3-2 deficit against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Celtics fell behind 0-3 to Miami before forcing a Game 7 on Monday.
