Saturday, June 9, 2012

Miami Heat beats Boston Celtics in Game 7 of Eastern Conference final!

Lebron Heat Celtics Game 7

The Heat is headed back to the NBA Finals.

LeBron James had 31 points and 12 rebounds, Dwyane Wade scored 23 and Miami rallied from as many as 11 points down to beat the Celtics 101-88 Saturday night in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final.

Chris Bosh finished with 19 points off the Miami bench, and made a 3-pointer that sparked a huge Heat run to end the game.

Next up: The Heat plays Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City on Tuesday night.

Rajon Rondo finished with 22 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for Boston, which got 19 points from Paul Pierce in what might be the last game of the "Big Four" era for the Celtics.

Durant not satisfied to just reach Finals

OKLAHOMA CITY — Win or lose, Kevin Durant can be found after just about any Thunder game talking about the need to keep working and getting better.

It was his approach when the Thunder was 3-29 and the laughingstock of the league. It's the same now that he has led the team to the NBA Finals just three years later.

Durant has never been about glitz and glamour. His winning combination has been humility and hard work, and it may soon pay off. The Thunder needs four more wins to win a title in only its fourth season in Oklahoma City and fulfill Durant's ultimate goal.

"There's always another level you can go to. In basketball, you always can be better at something, I think," Durant said after Saturday's practice.

"I haven't seen a guy that totally dominates the game in every aspect. He can't make every shot, he can't get every rebound, he can't get every assist, so I think you can get better. That's the mind-set I take."

Durant became the seventh player in league history to win three straight scoring titles, averaging 28 points per game, and he set career highs in shooting percentage, 3-point shooting, rebounding, assists and blocks.

And yet he's still driven to want more.

"I wouldn't say I'm satisfied," Durant said. "I'm happy that I progressed a little bit. I have a long ways to go, and I think that if I continue to just keep getting better at the mental part of the game — watching film and knowing where the defense is going to play, knowing where my teammates are going to be — then I can get better.

"I've just got to keep improving."

As Durant approached his first chance to leave — even as a restricted free agent — there became growing concern about whether a budding superstar would want to remain in one of the league's smallest markets without as many opportunities to make money and promote himself outside of the game.

Instead, he even skipped the chance to put an opt-out clause in his maximum contract to stay five more years in Oklahoma City.

"My job is to come in here and get better every day as a basketball player, and being here provides me the best opportunity to do so," Durant said. "The city is just so laid-back and quiet, and that's the type of person I am and it fits me well. It's just a perfect place to be. It's the perfect place to bring your family, just a nice place to relax and I enjoy it."

Durant isn't about all the extracurricular activities that can come with being in the NBA. He filmed a movie, due out later this year, but said it was the kind of thing he probably wouldn't do again.

Beyond turning in some of the best clutch performances this postseason, his image during the playoffs has been as the kid who toted a backpack to the podium for his postgame comments and created his biggest controversy by perhaps hugging his mom too early to celebrate his first trip to the NBA Finals.

Heat 101, Celtics 88

BOSTON (88): Pierce 7-18 3-5 19, Bass 6-8 4-4 16, Garnett 6-12 2-2 14, Rondo 10-22 1-2 22, Allen 5-11 2-2 15, Stiemsma 0-0 0-0 0, Pietrus 0-2 0-0 0, Hollins 1-1 0-0 2, Dooling 0-1 0-0 0, Daniels 0-0 0-0 0, Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Pavlovic 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-75 12-15 88.

MIAMI (101): James 9-21 12-17 31, Battier 4-9 0-0 12, Haslem 3-4 1-2 7, Chalmers 4-6 0-0 9, Wade 8-17 7-8 23, Bosh 8-10 0-0 19, Miller 0-2 0-0 0, Cole 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Howard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-70 20-27 101.

Boston 27 26 20 15— 88

Miami 23 23 27 28— 101

3-Point GoalsBoston 6-19 (Allen 3-8, Pierce 2-6, Rondo 1-2, Dooling 0-1, Pietrus 0-2), Miami 9-26 (Battier 4-9, Bosh 3-4, Chalmers 1-3, James 1-5, Jones 0-1, Miller 0-2, Wade 0-2). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsBoston 39 (Rondo 10), Miami 45 (James 12). AssistsBoston 19 (Rondo 14), Miami 16 (Chalmers 7). Total FoulsBoston 24, Miami 14. TechnicalsRondo, Wade. A20,114 (19,600).

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