BOSTON — It was over. Finished. The Celtics won. The Heat lost. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were headed to their first Finals. Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry were headed home. Draymond Green was preparing for Boston. The NBA was, too. More than 19,000 fans packed TD Garden for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday night expecting a coronation. They left with their team headed back to Miami—one loss away from elimination.
Butler did it. Ten years ago LeBron James took the same floor, stared down the same crowd and fended off conference finals elimination with a 45-point performance that would (briefly) define him.