Heat on brink of historic collapse as Celtics force Game 7 on White’s putback

The Boston Celtics were a tenth of a second away from elimination. The Miami Heat were a tenth of a second from the NBA finals.

Derrick White owned that final moment.

White scored on a putback as time expired and the Boston Celtics moved to the brink of the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history, holding off the Miami Heat 104-103 on Saturday night to force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference finals.

He knew it was good. Referees reviewed it, but it didn’t take long to give the official word.

Elation for Boston. Devastation for Miami.

“Just happy we won,” White said. “Whatever it takes.”

Jayson Tatum scored 31 points, Jaylen Brown scored 26 and Marcus Smart added 21 for the Celtics, who became only the fourth NBA team to erase a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series and force a deciding game. The others in that club – the 1951 New York Knicks in the NBA finals, the 1994 Denver Nuggets in the second round and the 2003 Portland Trail Blazers in the first round – all lost Game 7, all on the road.

Boston, however, are going home for their shot at history. Game 7 is Monday night on the Celtics’ floor, a matchup that’ll decide who meets the Western Conference champion Denver Nuggets in a title series that will start Thursday.

“It’s a seven-game series,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “There’s nothing better than Game 7s.”

Jimmy Butler made three free throws with 3.0 seconds left for a one-point Heat lead, capping a Miami rally from 10 points down with less than four minutes remaining.

The Celtics had White inbound the ball on the game’s final possession, and he passed to Smart – who missed a three-pointer. But White sprinted from the inbound spot to the rim, the ball fell into his hands and he got the lay-in away just before