Boston Celtics

For the inaugural presentation of the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP award, it was only right to be given to a Celtic Legend in the making.

Look for bigger and better things, and obviously he's going to do the same in the championship series.” Well-deserved all the accolades he's getting and he's only 24 and not even touched his ceiling, not even close to that. Tatum’s ability to battle through adversity in the ECF reflected upon his full-season effort of helping the Celtics bounce back from a rough start. “He's a superstar, and he deserved that,” Butler said of Tatum’s first Finals berth. Friday night’s Game 6 loss could have been a breaking point for Boston, but Tatum did what he has done all throughout the postseason by leading them to a bounce-back win. Regardless of how long I've been in the league, I'm not too far removed from when I was in high school and when I was dreaming about moments like this.

Boston appeared to be headed for the lottery at the start of the season, but now have a date with the Warriors in the championship.

But I think you just trust in yourself, trust in the work that you put in to get to this point and continue to work, and it can’t rain forever. I knew that coming in today and the group knew that.” Awaiting Boston is Golden State, and this is a matchup the Celtics can win. Tatum was a rookie when the Celtics made the conference finals in 2018, overcoming season-ending injuries to Gordon Hayward and Irving to push LeBron James and the Cavaliers to seven games before bowing out. “I came in with the mindset today that I was willing to do anything it took to win this game, however that looked,” Tatum said. Back then, Tatum believed a trip to the Finals was inevitable. “They allowed us to fix it and work it out.” The man that who spent years coaching under Gregg Popovich seemed to think he was him. “He kind of puts it on you to let you know that, hey, I’m not taking no slack. That’s right: The Celtics are headed to the NBA Finals. From the podium, Smart allowed it all to soak in. But whether it was the 48 minutes he played, the balky knee that has troubled him or the leprechaun that has seemingly attached itself to these Celtics since midseason, Butler’s shot came up short. For three quarters the Celtics had fended off a relentless, never-ending Heat charge, battling as a 15-point first quarter lead was whittled to six at the end of the second, and as a 12-point edge with 3 ½ minutes to play was sliced to two.

MIAMI — Boston's Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum had been in these moments before – playing in the Eastern Conference finals with a trip to the NBA Finals so ...

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The Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat 100-96 to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals. Here are 3 key moments that secured the win for Boston.

With just under five minutes left to play in Game 7, the Boston Celtics’ offense became a little stagnant. An 11-0 Heat run cut the Celtics’ lead down to just two but, luckily for the shamrocks, it never got any closer than that. The gritty Heat team cut into that lead countless times, but the C’s were able to find an answer every single time.