Sights and sounds from Miami Heat shootaround ahead of Game 7

BOSTON

Just 36 hours after Saturday night’s gut-wrenching Game 6 loss to the Boston Celtics at Kaseya Center, the Miami Heat was back at TD Garden preparing for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

“When you’re trying to accomplish something very challenging, there’s going to be bumps, there’s going to be tough times,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said following the team’s Monday morning shootaround session in Boston. “I’m just really happy for our guys that they get to experience a Game 7. I know our team, I know the competitive will and the desire. If you have that, you want these types of moments.”

Music from Miami rapper Rick Ross blasted through the speaker as the Heat held shootaround on the Celtics’ home court, players were smiling and coaches remained positive because of the opportunity still in front of them.

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Despite dropping three straight games after taking a 3-0 lead in the series, the Heat stands one win away from becoming just the second No. 8 seed in league history to advance to the NBA Finals. But the Heat is also one loss away from becoming the first team in league history to lose a best-of-7 series after winning the first three games.

“The way I see it is we’re making history either which way,” Heat guard Gabe Vincent said. “What side of history do we want to be on? So we’re looking forward to the opportunity.”

Here are more sights and sounds from the Heat’s shootaround ahead of Game 7:

▪ How long did it take the Heat to get over Saturday’s heartbreaking Game 6 loss on a buzzer-beating put-back from Celtics guard Derrick White?

“The next day, everybody was fine,” Spoelstra said. “We have great mental stability with our group. Again, we understand we have a big audacious goal. It’s not just this game, it’s not just this series. There are going to be a lot of tough things that happen along the way. We’ve had a lot of experience, unfortunately, with those kinds of losses. We also have experience bouncing back from those in a very powerful way.”

▪ Spoelstra added: “The real competitors in this association, this is what you dream about. You spend all your time training in the summer, it’s for moments like these. They’re not for everybody and neither are we.”

▪ Heat forward Max Strus on the 36 hours following Saturday’s painful loss: “It was gut-wrenching, for sure. Just because we knew what was ahead of us. But we’re blessed with the opportunity to play in a Game 7, right back in the position we were in last year. We’re all excited, we’re ready for it, we’re ready for the competition. We just can’t wait for the ball to go up in the air and get this thing going.”

▪ Heat guard Tyler Herro went through an on-court workout following shootaround on Monday. He remains out for Game 7 after breaking his right hand in the first game of the Heat’s playoff run on April 16 and there’s still no timetable for his return.

▪ This season’s Game 7 between the Heat and Celtics will be played on the one-year anniversary of last season’s Game 7 between the Heat and Celtics. The Celtics escaped last year’s Game 7 in Miami with a 100-96 win to end the Heat’s season.