Celtics vs. Heat final score, results: Caleb Martin, Tatum injury crush Celtics' NBA Finals dream

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History stands. Just as it was prior to this series, no team has come back from a 3-0 series deficit. 

The undrafted Caleb Martin was the star of the show tonight with 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting. Martin did it all series and there was no let down in this Game 7.

Jayson Tatum turned his ankle in the opening minute and never recovered. He never settled into a rhythm offensively (14 points, 5-13 FG) nor did he look like the All-Defense caliber player we've grown accustomed to on the other end. 

With Tatum struggling, the Celtics needed a big Jaylen Brown performance. Unfortunately for the Boston faithful, Brown fell far short of expectations, finishing with as many turnovers (8) as made shots (8-23 FG, 19 points). The Heat jumped him every time he put the ball on the deck on the perimeter and his suspect handle did not hold up.

As they've done throughout the postseason, Jimmy Butler and Caleb Martin carried the load for Miami. Butler scored a game-high 28 points en route to winning the Eastern Conference Finals MVP trophy while Martin poured in 26 points.

The Heat now face the Nuggets in the NBA Finals on June 1.

MORE: NBA Finals predictions and odds for Heat-Nuggets

In case you missed the action, we've got your covered with how it all went down in Game 7. 

Celtics vs. Heat final score, result

Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Celtics 15 26 25 18 84
Heat 22 30 24 27 103

Celtics vs. Heat live score, updates, highlights from Game 7

(All times Eastern)

10:53 p.m. FINAL SCORE — Boston go down in Game 7 by 19 points. Hard loss for the Celtics. With Jayson Tatum hurt and Jaylen Brown off the boil the Celtics didn't stand a chance. They trailed all game and despite a few stretches were completely outclassed by the Heat. 

10:44 p.m. END OF THE GAME — Heat 103 | Celtics 84

10:39 p.m. — IT'S OVER! The Celtics has waved the white flag; clearing its bench. The Heat have called a timeout and will likely come out with their bench unit - No! The Heat want to rub it in. They still have their starters on the floor. 

History remains unaltered. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit. The record sits at 0-151.

10:36 p.m. — Dunk by Butler! Nice play off the pick and roll with Bam Adebayo. Butler now has 28 points. 

10:35 p.m. — Marcus Smart comes up with a couple of steals and scores, but they feel like stat-padding plays rather then anything stirring. The crowd remains unenthusiastic. 97-79 Heat. 

10:32 p.m. — Tatum and Brown are a combined 2-of-their-last-23 from three in this series.

Tatum shouldn't even be out there; he's far from himself with that ankle injury. It's been a huge problem all game. Things could have been different had he not landed badly in the opening minute.   

10:27 p.m. — Jaylen Brown commits his eighth turnover! He's got a worse handle than an old wagon with a wonky wheel. It has not been his night. 

The lead is out to 20 points: 91-71. The fans look pretty depressed in their seats. This one is over. 

10:25 p.m. — That was an interesting passage. Derrick White missed a shot and the Heat rebounded it and went the other way. There wasn't a huge sense of defensive urgency by Boston. Caleb Martin was falling out of bounds and was able to make a long looping pass to Adebayo past the hobbled Tatum. No score came from the play, but it was telling of where the Celtics' heads are at.

10:21 p.m. — The Heat are 67-0 when leading by 10+ points in the fourth quarter in franchise history. It's not looking good for the Celtics at all. Heat lead 83-68.

10:16 p.m. START OF THE THIRD QUARTER — The Celtics have another HORRIBLE start to a quarter.

Boston suffer a 7-0 run and now trail by 17 points with 11:06 remaining.

Butler picks off a pass at the top of the arc and ambles the other way for a flush. The Celtics make their job so much harder.

10:12 p.m. END OF THE THIRD QUARTER — Heat 76 | Celtics 66

Caleb Martin has been extremely impressive with a game-high 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting. 

Jayson Tatum remains well below his usual standard due to an injured ankle. 

Mazzulla gives some extremely curt replies in his interview during the break.  

Can the Celtics come from behind to make history in his series coming back from 0-3?

10:11 p.m. — Caleb Martin knocks down an improbable fadeaway jumper. He scores the last five points for the Heat as the they take a ten-point lead into the last quarter. 

10:09 p.m. — Bad play by Max Strus. He grabs the Butler miss, but then tries to plow at the hoop through traffic. He turns the ball over and then commits a foul on Tatum, sending him to the line for two easy points. 

10:06 p.m. — Massive three by Butler, but answered right back by Grant Williams. 71-62.  

10:04 p.m. — Much like Tatum, Jimmy Butler turns his ankle while cutting on the baseline. He has a sour look on his face when he applies pressure to it. 

10:02 p.m. — Shot clock violation by the Heat. White goes the other way and earns a trip to the stripe. He splits them. 66-59. 

10:01 p.m. — The Celtics are running through Derrick White. He gets to the hoop and pops in two, but is called for travel. 

9:59 p.m. — White slithers to the rack and lays it in. He now has 15 points for the game, tying Brown for the most for the Celtics. Boston have cut the Heat lead back to eight: 66-58.

They need to focus to pull any closer. They've been in this position before and have suffered defensive lapses to see the lead balloon again.   

9:56 p.m. — Robert Williams III drops in the layup. He is prefect from the field at home in this series. He's causing trouble for Butler defensively too.

Strus gets free for a three to arrest any Celtics' momentum. 

9:53 p.m. — Here we go 8-0 run by the Celtics! Derrick White drops an and-one to do the damage. Heat lead 61-53. 

9:51 p.m. — Tatum is really sore and hurt. His ankle injury is worse than he's letting on. 

9:47 p.m. START OF THE THIRD QUARTER — Miami drop seven unanswered points to start the quarter, Jimmy Butler with five of them. Whatever Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said at halftime has had zero effect. 59-43. 

9:33 p.m. END OF THE SECOND QUARTER — Marcus Smart ends the half on a little four point flourish, but the Celtics still trail by 11: 52-41.

The Celtics have no answer for the Heat's zone defence. Boston are shooting 4-of-21 (19%) from the outside. Joe Mazzulla has no creativity in his offensive playbook, and with Jayson Tatum hobbled by an ankle injury, the inexperienced coach will need to come up with some answers fast.

Caleb Martin leads the Heat and the game in scoring with 14 points while Jimmy Butler has 11 points and five rebounds.

The only worry for Miami is the invisible performance and foul trouble surrounding Bam Adebayo. He has just four points and three fouls.  

9:25 p.m. — Official Scott Foster with a very Scott Foster-like call.  He pings Adebayo for a moving screen. The foul was there and it's Adebayo's third. It's the type of momentum shifting call the controversial official revels in making, especially when the home team prospers. 

9:21 p.m. — After a Tatum score the crowd stands to its feet, only to be silenced by a Gabe Vincent corner three. Despite trailing the Celtics seem to be building momentum. 

Bam Adebayo has been totally ineffective and is passing up open shots. The Heat need him to improve to see off this Celtics' charge. However, the Heat still lead 47-34.  

9:18 p.m. — Caleb Martin! A three and a two-point jumper back-to-back. 13 points and five rebounds so far. The undrafted stud is putting in work. 

9:15 p.m. — Tatum explodes in the open court for the fast break layup. Timeout Miami! That was Tatum's second field goal attempt of the game and it's good to see him get going. The problem is: again the Celtics star comes away from the play grimacing with ankle pain. Heat lead 38-25.  

9:11 p.m. — Brown hits another Boston three. Are they starting to turn the corner with their shooting? 

9:07 p.m. — Horford knocks down the Celtics' first three of the night! With that make Boston are now five of their last 40 attempts from the outside in this series. Heat lead 30-18. 

9:02 p.m. START OF THE SECOND QUARTER — Horrible start by the Celtics! Horford leaves Duncan Robinson wide open and then Haywood Highsmith picks Tatum's pocket and goes the other way for an easy layup. Five quick points for the Heat. They're up 27-15.

9:02 p.m. END OF THE FIRST QUARTER — Heat lead 22-15

With Jayson Tatum on the bench the Celtics limp to the quarter-time break. 

Boston are 0-of-10 from the outside! Tatum only has one point and is under an injury cloud after turning his ankle in the first minute of play.

Jaylen Brown is the Celtics' leading scorer with eight points, but there is no cohesion to the Celtics' offence.

The Heat have gone to a zone and the Celtics can't attack it effectively. This was their lowest scoring quarter of the postseason. 

Caleb Martin has a team-high seven points for the Heat as they look to be in the driver's seat.  

8:57 p.m. — Great drive by Marcus Smart who throws up an alley top to Robert Williams III. Heat lead trimmed to three: 18-15.

8:51 p.m. — Malclom Brogdon airballs a three as the Heat go the other way and connect on their second three in a row.

The Heat are on a 11-2 run as the Celtics struggle against the zone defence; shooting 0/8 from three so far. Heat lead 16-11 with 2:34 remaining. 

8:48 p.m. — Bad turnover by Bam Adebayo. The pass from Butler was serviceable, but the big man fumbles it out of bounds. Adebayo has had down games in the Heat's recent losses. He needs some early and easy hoops to build confidence.  

8:46 p.m. — The Heat are in a zone defence. Miami are gambling on the Celtics going cold from the outside. This defence has been effective in patches this series. 

8:43 p.m. — Timeout. Both teams are a little tight on offence, missing shots they should make. Celtics lead 9-4 with 6:53 remaining in the first quarter.  

8:38 p.m. — Tatum splits his free throws and runs down the court with his teeth gritted. He's definitely in pain. This is a storyline to monitor throughout the game. 

8:36 p.m. — With the first play of the game Jayson Tatum drives the baseline and collides with Gabe Vincent. On the way down he lands on Vincent's foot and turns his ankle. He hobbles away, but seems okay.

8:34 p.m. START OF THE FIRST QUARTER — The Celtics win the tip and this Game 7 is underway!

8:03 p.m. — The starting lineups have been announced.

Boston Celtics: Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford.

Miami Heat: Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin and Bam Adebayo

7:49 p.m. — Malcolm Brogdon looks to be AVAILABLE for the Celtics.

7:43 p.m. — Charles Barkley asking the tough questions during pregame: "Two greater words: Game Seven or Summer Vacation?" 🤣

NBA Finals schedule 2023: Heat vs. Nuggets

Game 1 between Denver and Miami is scheduled for Thursday, June 1. Depending on the length of the series, the 2022-23 NBA champion will be crowned sometime between June 9 and June 18. 

The Nuggets earned home court advantage in the series thanks to their better regular season record. They will host Games 1 and 2 before the Heat host Games 3 and 4. If necessary, Games 5 and 7 will be played in Denver while Game 6 would be held in Miami. 

MORE: Full details for Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals

Here is the full schedule for the 2023 NBA Finals:

(All times Eastern)

Date Game Matchup Time National TV
June 1 Game 1 Heat at Nuggets 8:30 p.m. ABC
June 4 Game 2 Heat at Nuggets 8 p.m. ABC
June 7 Game 3 Nuggets at Heat 8:30 p.m. ABC
June 9 Game 4 Nuggets at Heat 8:30 p.m. ABC
June 12 Game 5* Heat at Nuggets 8:30 p.m. ABC
June 15 Game 6* Nuggets at Heat 8:30 p.m. ABC
June 18 Game 7* Heat at Nuggets 8 p.m. ABC

How to watch NBA Finals games: TV channel, live stream

  • TV channels: ABC
  • Live streams: Sling TV

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Author(s)
Joseph Corr Photo

Joseph Corr is an NBA content producer at The Sporting News.