Charles Barkley. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Charles Barkley rips Celtics during Game 7 with epic one-liner

By Jeff Smith | Last updated 5/30/23

The Boston Celtics had all the momentum going into Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. Unfortunately, it seems all the energy it took to dig their way out of a 3-0 series hole against the Miami Heat finally caught up to them.

After winning Game 6 in Miami with a wild last-second tip-in by Derrick White, the Celtics appeared primed to carry that momentum into Game 7.

After a slow start to the game that included Celtics star Jayson Tatum tweaking his ankle less than one minute into the game, Boston found themselves down by seven at the end of the first quarter and 11 at halftime.

The Celtics were unable to knock down anything from beyond the arc from essentially start to finish in this game, and TNT analyst Charles Barkley had apparently seen enough.

During the first quarter, following an 0-10 start from three-point range for Boston, Barkley called out the Celtics for their struggles throughout the game, stating that "watching these dumba- Celtics play is making my head hurt."

Here's the full video from NBA on TNT, which is not censored.

Chuck: “Watching these dumbass Celtics play is making my head hurt.” pic.twitter.com/awVFoNh4Zc
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 30, 2023

The Celtics' 0-10 start from beyond the arc left them looking for answers and playing catch-up from that point on, while the Heat kept their foot fully on the gas.

Whenever the Celtics would cut the lead down or make the game tight at all, Miami found a way to answer and in the end, pulled away for a dominant 103-84 victory.

The Heat were simply exceptional in this game, led by a new dynamic duo of Jimmy Butler and breakout forward Caleb Martin. Butler and Martin tallied 28 and 26 points while combining for 17 rebounds, nine assists, and four steals.

Martin, who's proven to be impressively consistent from three-point range, knocked down 4-of-6 attempts and finished the series against Boston with a 48.9 three-point percentage.

As a team, the Heat shot 50% from three-point range in Game 7 and 48.8% from the field. Comparitvely, the Celtics shot 21.4% from deep and 39% from the field.

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