One of the costliest moments for the Miami Heat in its season-ending, 100-96 loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday happened in Secaucus, New Jersey.
With 8:28 left in the third quarter of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, three points came off the board for the Heat and the Celtics’ lead — once apparently down to 56-54 — swelled to 67-54 with two free throws by Robert Williams. A few minutes after Max Strus hit a three-pointer to seemingly cut Boston’s lead to 56-54 with 11:04 left in the third, an official in Secaucus, where the NBA Replay Center is headquartered, decided it shouldn’t count. A replay, the NBA said, showed the wing stepped out of bounds before hoisting his long-range jump shot in Miami.
Erik Spoelstra said he was “in shock” at the ruling.
