Few gave the Heat a chance against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, despite the fact that Miami became the sixth No. 8 seed to upset a No. 1 seed in NBA playoff history when it beat the Bucks in the first round. However, after taking the first two games of the series, Miami moved to the brink of advancing to the NBA Finals with a 128–102 victory in Sunday’s Game 3.
The shock of the blowout reverberated across the basketball world, combined with the fact that Boston seemed to offer little resistance to the Heat throughout the evening. Commentators and fans alike offered reactions that underlined the stunning nature of Miami's win.
Most immediately, TNT color commentator Stan Van Gundy harshly criticized the Celtics' body language in the third quarter.
Stan Van Gundy takes the Celtics to task:
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 22, 2023
"I like Robert Williams and Grant Williams in the game. They both at least have some juice. This Celtic team has showed very little enthusiasm, energy, passion. Let's get some guys out there who will play with some energy." pic.twitter.com/tUekueEFZb
Non-basketball celebrities such as The Kid Mero jumped in to roast Boston.
NICK NURSE GONNA BE ANNOUNCED AS CELTICS HC ON MONDAY BOOK IT
— THE KID MERO 🇩🇴 (@THEKIDMERO) May 22, 2023
Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe suggested the performance was among the worst he'd ever seen from the Celtics.
This is really bad, perhaps the worst playoff performance in the past two decades for the #Celtics. They have given up. #Heat
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) May 22, 2023
Meanwhile, Lakers fans had a self-deprecating laugh a night after Los Angeles had lost to the Nuggets on Saturday to go down 3–0 in the Western Conference finals.
Lakers vs Celtics finals in Cancun 🔥 pic.twitter.com/72DvoW8Blk
— Lakers Empire (@LakersEmpire) May 22, 2023
Fans had a field day with an ESPN graphic before the series that suggested Boston had a 97% chance of claiming the conference title.
The Celtics lost once this graphic was posted pic.twitter.com/MM9p0P4Wmw
— mev 🏀🧸🌹 (@mevvybear) May 22, 2023
The Heat will have the opportunity to make history Tuesday evening in Game 4, when Miami can join the 1999 Knicks as the second No. 8 seed in history to reach the NBA Finals.
