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While Game 6 will be remembered as the Derrick White game, a series of controversial moments on the previous game set the stage for the winning move.
There was the Heat’s Jimmy Butler driving on the left, getting hit by Al Horford and fumbling for the ball, collecting it and starting to dribble again (which looked close to earning a double-dribble call). Then Butler fired a shooting foul on Horford initially called inside the arc with :02.1 seconds left, but after Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla challenged it and it was ruled an attempt to 3 points (it was clearly the case) at the :03 second mark. The referees added 0.9 seconds to the clock, eventually allowing White to get the winning return with 0.1 to go.
The umpires have it all figured out, the NBA said in its Game 6 final two-minute report. The report found only two incorrect calls in the final five minutes:
• Caleb Martin should have been penalized for a lane violation on Jaylen Brown’s missed free throw with 1:01 left in the game.
• Gabe Vincent should have been called for a foul on Jayson Tatum’s stumbling lay-up attempt with 31 to go.
None of that changes the results, the Celtics slip away from Miami with a 104-103 victory to force a Game 7 on Monday night. Even though it is a match 7, it will be hard for this game to top the match 6 drama.
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NBA Says Horford Fouled Butler’s Proper Call, Added Time originally appeared on NBCSports.com