Miami Heat reach NBA finals
The longest season in the history of the National Basketball Association is finally coming to a conclusion with the NBA finals set to start this week. The league had been forced to shut down for months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, throwing the whole season into jeopardy at one point. However, the league was able to get things sorted out by having teams compete from inside the NBA bubble in Florida without any fans in attendance.
After a competitive summer of basketball, on Sunday we finally learned who would be competing in the 2020 NBA finals. The Los Angeles Lakers booked their spot on Saturday night with a 4-1 series win over the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals. They still had to wait to find out who they would be meeting in the finals though, with the Miami Heat up 3-2 in their series against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Lakers would not have to wait too long though as the Heat got the job done on Sunday night beating the Celtics 125-113 in game six to clinch the series 4-2. It’s the first time the Heat have reached the final since 2014 when they lost to the San Antonio Spurs.
“A great series. It was so competitive,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said following game six, via TSN. “I mean, in many ways, this was a seven-game series, just how competitive it was. Extremely well-coached and well-put together and we are just honoured to be a part of that type of series in the conference finals, and then we get an opportunity for the next stage. Our guys will look forward to it. We’re going to try to enjoy it for a night.”
The last time Miami reached the final, Lebron James led the team along with Dwyane Wade. This time around though, James will be on the opposite end of the court trying to win his first championship with the Los Angeles Lakers and his fourth overall.
Miami will not have an easy time in the final, given the Lakers topped the difficult Western Conference with 52 wins in the regular season. The Heat have looked good since entering the bubble though and will not be intimidated by the star power of Los Angeles.
“Miami deserves a lot of credit,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said, via TSN. “They’re super physical, super tough, very, very savvy. I think they’re the best team in the East and deserve to be representing the East in the way that they have played.”
Miami have a total of three NBA titles as a franchise, with the last one coming in 2013 with James still on the team. They kick-off their quest for a fourth NBA championship on Wednesday night with tipoff for game one of the best-of-seven series set for 9:00 pm ET. Game two of the NBA finals will take place on Friday night at 9:00 pm ET as well, with game three going down on Sunday evening at 7:30 pm ET.
