Garnett and Celtics Drop Game 7 to Heat

Mauldin native Kevin Garnett may have played his last game for the Boston Celtics.

Garnett's Boston team dropped a Game 7 showdown to the LeBron James-led Miami Heat on Saturday night, 101-88. The win gave the Heat a 4-3 win in the series and makes Miami the Eastern Conference Champions for the second year in a row. They will travel to Oklahoma City to start the NBA Finals against the Thunder on Tuesday.

Boston led for much of the first three quarters and was seven clear of the home-standing Heat at halftime, 53-46. But by the end of three quarters Miami had pulled even at 73. And in the final quarter, the Heat appeared to wear down the veteran Celtics. 

Garnett found himself in foul trouble in the first half and had to sit out several minutes in the second quarter. He finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, well below his playoff averages of 19 and 10.

But the difference in the game was not Garnett's foul problems. It was Chris Bosh. Bosh missed all of the previous series and the first four games of this series with an abdominal injury.

He came off the bench on Saturday to score 19 points on 8-10 shooting, including 3-4 from behind the 3-point line. A Bosh 3-pointer with 7:17 left sparked a Miami surge that put them in front for good.

Boston and Garnett now face an off-season likely filled with change. Garnett and Ray Allen, both 36, are unrestricted free agents and it seems unlikely that both will be re-signed and return to the Celtics.

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