The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- Judith Benjamin
A contingent of Miami Heat fans prematurely celebrated the frantic ending of Game 6 against the Boston Celtics at a wedding and footage of their hilarious mistake has gone viral on social media since then, leaving them red-faced in the process.
The Heat have been on the cusp of advancing to the NBA Finals after getting off to a 3-0 start in the series, and it seemed like Jimmy Butler and Co. were finally going to brush off the Celtics this weekend, when the small forward made all three of his free throw attempts after being fouled from behind the arc with 3.0 seconds left.
What’s more is that during an indoor wedding reception on Saturday, a few devoted Heat fans decided to secretly tune into the game’s last few seconds, hoping to watch their team progress to the last stage of the postseason for the second time in three years.
They were caught yelling ‘defense’ as the Celtics had the game’s final possession – a sideline out-of-bounds play. It all but looked like Miami had sealed the win following Marcus Smart’s three-point miss and the clock seemingly running out, with guests getting up from their seats and jumping around in ecstasy.
‘Let’s go Heat,’ chants rocked the venue and some wedding-goers even took out a few Heat flags that they had brought to the reception, waving them proudly as the night was still young.
A group of Miami Heat fans prematurely celebrated their team’s Game 6 ‘win’ at a wedding
Emotions ran high and every guest seemed to have a great time, but unfortunately for them, Derrick White ruined the party.
With just 0.3 seconds left, the Celtics guard crashed the board along with Jayson Tatum, after Smart’s miss, banking in a putback with just 0.1 seconds remaining to give Boston a 104-103 win, forcing Game 7 in the process.
‘We thought we won …..,’ the TikTok video’s caption stated.
Derrick White, of the Boston Celtics, shoots the game winner right before the buzzer expires
In defense of the partygoers, they weren’t the only ones to assume that the Heat had emerged victorious from Saturday’s game with such less time left in the contest.
Even TNT’s Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller could hardly believe the game’s outcome at first, refusing to acknowledge that White’s putback had beaten the buzzer.
However, a replay confirmed the wild finish, and the Celtics will try to make history by becoming the first team to win an NBA playoff series after being down 3-0 and still advance.
Game 7 will be played on Monday at 8.30 p.m. at TD Garden. Heat fans will want to avoid seeing their team crash out of the postseason after losing to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals (4-3 series loss) last year.
The winner will take on the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals, starting on June 1.
