The Heat were one-tenth of a second away from the NBA Finals on Saturday night, but the series they once led 3-0 will go to a decisive Game 7 on Monday.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra believes his team will avoid a historic collapse in Boston.
"At this time right now, I don't know how we're going to get this done, but we're gonna go up there and get it done," Spoelstra told reporters after the heart-wrenching loss.
"I don't know how we're gonna get this done, but we're gonna go up there and get it done."
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) May 28, 2023
- Erik Spoelstra on Game 7 in Boston pic.twitter.com/WwNNW5JWvv
The soft guarantee echoes the confidence expressed by Jimmy Butler after Game 5, when the star said Miami "can and we will win this series," but it's unlikely to put Heat fans at ease. Two days after Butler said Miami would have to close out the series at home, he shot 5 for 21 in a game the Heat trailed most of the way.
Butler drilled three free throws in the final seconds to temporarily erase any talk of his offensive struggles, but Derrick White's miraculous tip-in for the win undoubtedly has the Heat wondering what could've been if just one more of their shots had gone in.
MORE: Derrick White saves Celtics' season with Game 6 buzzer-beater
Nevertheless, Spoelstra is ready to get Game 7 underway as soon as possible.
"We wish we could tip this thing off right now. Right now, we want to tip this thing off and let's play another 48 minutes," he said.
"We wish we could tip this thing off right now. … But we'll wait 48 hours and do this thing in Boston."
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) May 28, 2023
Erik Spoelstra after the Heat's Game 6 loss to the Celtics 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/ncSUfDiV7k
While all of the momentum lies with the Celtics at this point, the Heat did take the first two games of the series at TD Garden. To reach his sixth NBA Finals as a head coach, Spoelstra will need one more.
If Spoelstra's prediction doesn't come to fruition, Boston will become the first team to win a best-of-seven NBA playoff series after trailing three games to none. Teams are 0-150 in such situations.