Date: 1/13/2016Written by: Anthony MoscaretTitle: NBA Beat Writer Miami Herald

Miami Fights Back to Advance to NBA Finals

Miami, Fla. – Three players scored in double figures for the Miami Heat to claim the Eastern Conference Finals with a 101-88 win over the Boston Celtics to advance to the NBA Finals.

The Heat opened up the scoring in Game Seven on back-to-back free throws by Lebron James. They would later not regain the lead until the third frame when Dwyane Wade drained a 20-foot jumper to make it a 63-62 game with 5:45 remaining. Both teams combined for a total of 20 lead changes, while being tied 10 times apiece. Miami’s largest lead of the game was 13, just two points more than Boston.

Chris Bosh would sink a jumper to close out the scoring for the Heat in the third quarter to tie the game 73-73. He would finish the game with 19 points (8-of-10), while going 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

In the fourth quarter, the Heat would use a 20-6 run. James would take over as he scored 11 of his 31 points, grabbed eight boards and shot 4-of-7 from the foul line. He finished the game with a double-double as he tallied 31 points and 12 boards in the contest.

“We fought back hard knowing that Boston was going to give us everything they had” James said. “Our team knows that it is not just one man on the court, but five guys working together”.

Wade finished the night as he dropped 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field, while recording a total in six boards and assists. The guard made eight trips to the foul line and only missed once.

Fellow teammate Shane Battier showed why he was one of Duke’s key shooters as he went 4-of-9 from behind the arc to tally a dozen points in just under 39 minutes.

The Celtics had all five starters in double figures with Rajon Rondo finishing the night off with triple-double as he tallied 22 points, 14 assists and 10 boards to close out his 2012 postseason.

Forward Paul Pierce finished the night for Boston as he scored 19 points before fouling out. Fellow forward Brandon Bass had 16 points as he went 6-of-8 from the field.

Ray Allen closed out the contest with 15 points and center Kevin Garnett added 14 of his own. Garnett finished second on the team in rebounds for Boston as he grabbed seven boards.

The Heat shot 74.1% from the line, 51.4% from the field and 34.6% from 3-point range. Their opponents only outshot them from the line at 80%. Boston finished the night shooting 46.7% from the floor and 31.6% from beyond the arc.

Miami will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals in the upcoming week.